'Earnings shock' jolts big lenders

Interest rate cuts hit profitability of banks during the first six months of this year

Large State-owned banks saw a sharp fall in net profit growth to around 1 percent during the first six months of 2015, their half-year earnings reports showed.

Researchers said the drop was caused by a series of interest rate cuts amid the economic downturn and the banks' significant increase in loan provisions to guard against bad loans.