SHANGHAI, March 28 Reuters The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ICBC said on Thursday it will support moves underway in the world39;s secondlargest economy to stabilise its property market.

The comments were made by Wang Jingwu, a vice president at the world39;s largest lender, at a press conference held a day after its annual results were published. Wang did not specify what kind of support ICBC would provide.

ICBC and Bank of Communications Co Ltd, which kicked off earnings reporting of China39;s five major state banks, both reported barely any profit growth in 2023 amid slowing economic growth.

Volatility in China39;s property market, which started with policies aimed at reining in developer debt, has seen defaults and failures at several property firms, hurting the sector39;s financiers and leaving investors wondering whether stateowned property firms will get more support from banks versus privately owned ones.

Chinese regulators are pushing banks to speed up approvals of new loans to cashstarved private developers, Reuters reported earlier this week, amid reluctance by the lenders to deepen their exposure to the ailing sector.

ICBC will treat property firms equally, regardless of their ownership, said Wang.

The property sector and its woes were also a focus for the Bank of Communications Co Ltd BoCom which posted a higher proportion of nonperforming loans from property firms on Wednesday, and warned of risks to asset quality.

The pressure on asset…