China faces up to the hidden debts of its local governments
BANKS in Western countries dragged their economies into the great recession. Banks in China pulled the country out of it. Much of the Chinese government’s stimulus effort from 2008 to 2010 was left to financial institutions, which proved better at shoving money out of the door than America’s federal government.
The banks lent to thousands of investment corporations set up by local governments, which cannot borrow in their own name. With the help of some initial capital and collateral, like land, these investment vehicles directed the lending into local bridges, tunnels and real-estate ventures. But many of the loans have turned bad, threatening the balance-sheets of the banks that made them. ...
