, Columnist
China's Banks Are Improving (Sort Of)
Capital ratios are still too low. But there are signs of progress.
Gonna need some more.
Photographer: Fred Dufour/AFPAmong the most important questions facing China's economy is this: How stable are the banks?
The big picture is pretty well known, and ugly. Debt stands at nearly 300 percent of gross domestic product. Some analysts think the non-performing loan ratio -- officially at 1.74 percent -- may actually be as high as 25 percent. Even state media is promising a "war on financial risks" in 2018.