BEIJING, April 11 Reuters Several small and midsized banks in China have lowered their deposit interest rates, a move that could help ease costs as loan growth faces more pressure amid rising economic risks.

Rural commercial banks and credit unions in Hubei and Henan provinces cut rates on a range of deposits over the weekend, following cuts at some regional lenders in the southern province of Guangdong last week, statements from the lenders showed.

Henan LuoShan Rural Commercial Bank on Saturday lowered the interest rate for oneyear deposits by 35 basis points bps to 1.9, by 30 bps for twoyear deposits to 2.4 and by 45 bps for threeyear deposits to 2.85, according to a statement.

The move comes as lenders face rising pressure from narrower profit margins as China39;s economy recovers from three years of harsh pandemic curbs and a property market slump. Household savings have surged while credit demand remains sluggish.

China39;s economy reopened after zeroCOVID policies were lifted in December but commerce and domestic demand are not back to prepandemic levels. The foundation of the recovery is not yet solid, analysts warned.

Against the backdrop that financial institutions are encouraged to support the economy, lending rates have obviously fallen, Ming Ming, a fixed income analyst at CITIC Securities, wrote in a research note released on Monday.

But the costs of liabilities of banks remain relatively rigid, and net interest margins continue to shrink, which added…