PREVIEW-China banks to face harder times after bumper 2007

*What: ICBC, Bank of China and China Construction Bank 2007 earnings

*When: ICBC and Bank of China (March 25) and Construction Bank (April 11)

*Hit by U.S. subprime-related provisions, especially BOC. ICBC and CCB poised for strong profit growth

By Kennix Chim

HONG KONG, March 21 (Reuters) - China's huge banks are poised to report strong profit growth for 2007, thanks to a surging economy and stock market bull run, but 2008 is set to be a tougher year for the top three Chinese lenders.

Beijing's clampdown on loan growth to cool its economy, global economic headwinds, fierce competition and a stock market downturn will create challenges for a sector that was also hit last year by direct exposure to the U.S. subprime mortgage mess.

"In terms of profit growth, Hong Kong-listed Chinese banks reached a peak in 2007. It will be difficult for that to happen in 2008," said Samuel Chen, analyst at JP Morgan.

Bank of China's (3988.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (601988.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) profit growth is expected to be the weakest among the three state-run giants because of its exposure to subprime holdings, slower fee income growth and higher loan impairment losses.

China's top foreign exchange lender is expected to post a 25 percent increase in 2007 net profit to 53.5 billion yuan ($7.6 billion), according to 26 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.