Tectonic shifts hit traditional lenders

Banks are battling the triple threat of technology, shifting consumer demand and a fleet of new online rivals, reports Jiang Xueqing.

Commercial banks in China are racing to keep pace with fast-changing consumer demand, an explosion of smart and mobile technologies and nimble Internet companies that are upending the financial world through innovative services.

Most listed banks' profit growth slid to a single-digit range last year as the economy slowed and interest rates were further liberalized, cutting lenders' margins. But another key factor was Internet-driven financial disintermediation, a process that reduces or removes the role of the middleman that banks have traditionally played.