Prices, for example, are roughly half the peak levels of about a year ago but the outlook suggests they are still some way off the bottom. Decelerating economic growth in China will feed through to slower loan growth and deteriorating asset quality. Last month's cut in interest rates affected only lending rates, thus eroding net interest margins. Even when both rates are cut, as in the most recent move, that hits government bond yields and hence the banks' treasury returns. As pertinently, Chinese savers are shifting more money into higher-yielding term deposits, again increasing funding costs.