Some of China’s biggest state-run banks have cut deposit rates for the first time since 2015, as Beijing searches for ways to boost flagging growth in the world’s second-largest economy without risking runaway depreciation of the renminbi.

State lenders including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Agricultural Bank of China cut interest rates for three-year deposits by 0.15 percentage points on Thursday to 2.6 per cent, according to the banks. The lenders also reduced rates for three-year certificates of deposit by 0.1 percentage points to 1.45 per cent.

The measures mark the latest attempt to revive economic growth in China, where policymakers are struggling to contain the fallout from disruptive Covid-19 lockdowns and a liquidity crisis cascading through the property sector.