CHINA Construction Bank reported the slowest growth in net earnings in six years as the country's economic slowdown dented demand for the lender's financial services.

The net income at the world's second-biggest lender gained 14 percent to 193.2 billion yuan (US$31.1 billion) last year from 169.3 billion yuan the year before, according to CCB's annual report published yesterday.

The bank's net interest income jumped 16 percent to 353.2 billion yuan last year. The margin improved slightly to 2.58 percent last year from 2.57 percent the year before despite the more liberal interest rate regime in the country that allowed more flexibility in setting interest rates.

CCB's fee income increased 7.5 percent to 93.5 billion yuan from credit cards and trade finance. But the income contribution from fees and commissions actually narrowed to 20 percent from 22 percent in 2011 as China's worst economic slowdown in 13 years of 7.8 percent in 2012 eroded demand for financial services. Furthermore government curbs on property prices also weighed on banks' asset quality in general.