(Yicai Global) Jan. 4 -- Some small and medium-sized Chinese lenders have adjusted the interest rates they offer on deposits, with larger banks poised to follow this year, according to China Securities Journal.

Bank of Urumqi trimmed the rate on personal deposits to 0.25 percent from 0.3 percent on Jan. 1, with that on five-year fixed deposits down to 3.7 percent from 3.85 percent, the report said today. Wudalianchi Rural Commercial Bank cut the rate on three- to five-year lump-sum term deposits by five to 25 basis points to between 1.5 percent and 3.1 percent.

But some other lenders, including Henan Yima Rural Commercial Bank, Yiyang County Rural Credit, and Hubei Gucheng Rural Commercial Bank, recently hiked rates of fixed-term deposits to attract customers.

Considering the market environment, commercial banks adjust their debt-bearing costs to guide client behavior and optimize debt structure, an analyst at a brokerage firm told China Securities Journal, adding that higher deposit rates are only temporary and will not last long.

Financial professionals advise putting more money into other financial products, as deposit rates are set to fall, the report added.

Interest rates on fixed deposits at medium and large-sized lenders have not changed much and have been relatively low. The five-year deposit rate at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is 3.05 percent, a client manager said. People should buy whole life insurance products to lock in long-term rates, the person noted. 

Another client manager at Agricultural Bank of China said the lender's interest rates on three-year and five-year deposits and large-sum certificates of deposit are at low levels, adding that interested investors need to make reservations because of the limited quota available.

Chinese yuan and foreign currency deposits rose 11.1 percent to CNY263.96 trillion (USD38.32 trillion) at the end of November from a year earlier, with the balance of yuan deposits jumping 11.6 percent to CNY257.78 trillion, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

Editor: Martin Kadiev