China, the world’s second-largest economy, is grappling with a tough transition, as the government seeks to boost sluggish growth with an infusion of cheap credit (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)
Beijing – A key gauge of China’s debt has reached its highest level on record, setting off alarm bells of imminent risk to the banking system, a Swiss banking watchdog reported.
China’s credit-to-GDP gap reached 30.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016, its highest level ever and far above the 10 percent level associated with banking risks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in a quarterly report released late Sunday.
It gave China a red signal, a level it said was intended to indicate the possibility of a financial crisis in the three years ahead.
The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with a tough economic transition, as Beijing seeks to boost sluggish growth with an infusion of cheap credit.
But analysts have warned that a debt-fueled rebound might be short-lived, and that ballooning borrowings risk sparking a financial crisis as bad loans and bond defaults increase.
The BIS put China’s debt level for the period above all countries in the survey, which covered 41 nations including the United States, Greece, and the United Kingdom.
The BIS early-warning indicators are intended to capture “financial overheating and potential financial distress” in the medium term, it said, and to highlight that rapid credit growth could “sow the seeds” for future crises.