China Banks' Leverage Falls for First Time Since 2010

  • Interbank exposure, WMPs, entrusted loans declined this year
  • CBRC launched campaign against financial leverage in April

A woman walks down a corridor as skyscrapers of the Pudong area stand in Shanghai.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Chinese banks’ leverage fell for the first time in seven years as the government’s campaign to curb risks in the $40 trillion financial system started to bite.

The balances of both interbank assets and liabilities at the end of June declined by 1.8 trillion yuan ($270 billion) from the beginning of the year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission disclosed at a press conference on Friday. The outstanding amount of wealth-management products, especially those sold to other financial institutions, fell by a cumulative 1.9 trillion yuan, the regulator said.