China, Brazil Among Emerging Markets at Risk of Bank Crisis

  • China credit-to-GDP surges to highest globally, BIS says
  • High ratios indicate early warning signs for banking strains

El-Erian: Brazil Is Stuck in a Vicious Cycle

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Credit growth in China, Brazil and Turkey doesn’t only risk spurring a hangover in bad debt -- it also signals a banking crisis is on the horizon, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

A ratio of credit to gross domestic product, a measure of how much private-sector credit has deviated from its long-term trend, stands at 25.4 percent in China, BIS said in a report on Sunday. That’s the highest of any major economy and compares with 16.6 percent in Turkey and 15.7 percent in Brazil.