Bloomberg Two of China’s largest banks posted better-than-expected profit growth in 2017 as a strengthening economy curbed soured loans and the government’s campaign to cut debt boosted their lending margins. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd on Tuesday reported a 3 percent increase in net income last year, while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd posted a 5 percent gain. …

Bloomberg The European Central Bank alerted auditors that lenders could try to take advantage of the transition to new accounting standards to spread the hit on loan losses over years instead of reflecting them in their 2017 financial results, three people familiar with the matter said. The ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, which oversees the region’s largest banks, flagged the risk …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG is considering candidates to potentially replace Chief Executive Officer John Cryan amid heightened tensions between him and Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner, the Times of London reported without saying where it got the information. The bank approached Richard Gnodde, the head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s international operations, but he’s thought to have spurned the overture, …