That leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock marketsChina’s banking sector has traditionally served as a party-controlled feeding trough for its inefficient, unprofitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs), most of which were technically insolvent. The process was simple – extend a loan to an unqualified SOE applicant, then write off the loan as a bad debt when it failed to repay. This situation is beginning to change, and Chinese banks are attracting the attention of foreign banks that are beginning to view them as investment opportunities rather than potential competitors. Nevertheless, China’s banking industry is beset by several problems.

1. SOE Lending: The importance of the Chinese banking sector as a source of domestic capital is hard to overstate. Mainland China’s stock markets are anemic compared to the behemoths of Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York, and China’s bond market is virtually nonexistent. That leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock markets

extend a loan to an unqualified SOE applicant, then write off the loan as a bad debt when it failed to repay. This situation is beginning to change, and Chinese banks are attracting the attention of foreign banks that are beginning to view them as investment opportunities rather than potential competitors. Nevertheless, China’s banking industry is beset by several problems.

1. SOE Lending: The importance of the Chinese banking sector as a source of domestic capital is hard to overstate. Mainland China’s stock markets are anemic compared to the behemoths of Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York, and China’s bond market is virtually nonexistent. That leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock markets

t are beginning to view them as investment opportunities rather than potential competitors. Nevertheless, China’s banking industry is beset by several problems.

1. SOE Lending: The importance of the Chinese banking sector as a source of domestic capital is hard to overstate. Mainland China’s stock markets are anemic compared to the behemoths of Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York, and China’s bond market is virtually nonexistent. That leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock markets

ing sector as a source of domestic capital is hard to overstate. Mainland China’s stock markets are anemic compared to the behemoths of Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York, and China’s bond market is virtually nonexistent. That leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock marketsThat leaves banks as the only major source of over-the-table domestic funding for private enterprises. Yet SOE lending continues to siphon off a good part of banking capital, notwithstanding that China’s stock markets were largely designed to provide SOEs with an alternative source of funding. Many domestic companies have resorted to the underground institutional loan sharks with their high interest rates, or relying solely on retained earnings for funding. Even though SOE loan defaults have declined dramatically at some banks for recent loans, the industry as a whole is still experiencing a hangover from imprudent lending under earlier, more politicized lending policies.

2. Corruption: There is a crackdown underway, but corruption is rampant in many sectors of the Chinese economy, and the government is always cracking down on corruption in this or that industry. Meanwhile, the cycle continues. It is tempting to predict that only the threat of bankruptcy due to foreign competition will ever be enough to create the political will necessary for consistent enforcemen