ICBC takes top slot for deposits

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest lender by market cap, has now also become the biggest by deposits. The latest symbolic milestone underlines how Chinese banks have weathered the global crisis to become the world’s largest lenders. ICBC’s customer deposits reached Rmb8,900bn ($1,300bn) by end-March after increasing by Rmb950bn from Jan 1, the bank said Monday. ICBC, which is 4.9% owned by Goldman Sachs and 75% owned by Beijing, increased net profits last year by 36% to Rmb111bn, making it the world’s most profitable bank.