China's banking regulator to step up risk control in 2018

BEIJING - China will continue to strengthen financial supervision in the banking sector in 2018, preventing risks such as high corporate debt and household leverage, the banking regulator said Friday.

Risks in the banking industry are under control, but challenges remain, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in a statement released after a two-day work meeting concluded Friday.

The CBRC will work to reduce the debt ratio of companies, and control the financing of companies with heavy debt.

It will speed up the disposal of non-performing loans, while curbing household leverage by cracking down on the improper use of consumer loans.

Household borrowing for stock market or housing market investments will be strictly controlled, the CBRC said.

China has made progress in financial risk control thanks to better regulation last year. Growth in off-balance-sheet businesses saw a continued decline and many banks saw lower bad loan ratios.