China Macroeconomics & Academia

Christopher Balding

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

China Diversified financials / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p>Major Chinese banks have released their 2016 annual results and you could be forgiven for believing that the Chinese economy was on firmer footing and banks had addressed their non-performing loan (NPL) problem.  With two of the major banks reporting small declines in NPLs and all banks reporting small increases in net profit, many were nearly exuberant at the state of Chinese banks.  However, you would be well advised to remain very cautious on the state of Chinese banks.</p>

Major Chinese banks have released their 2016 annual results and you could be forgiven for believing that the Chinese economy was on firmer footing and banks had addressed their non-performing loan (NPL) problem.  With two of the major banks reporting small declines in NPLs and all banks reporting small increases in net profit, many were nearly exuberant at the state of Chinese banks.  However, you would be well advised to remain very cautious on the state of Chinese banks.

China Banks: Headline Positive, Fundamental Deterioration