China's small and medium-sized city.....>

CHINA PRESS: China's small and medium-sized city commercial banks may be under

greater pressure to reduce balance sheets by the government's push for

deleveraging and stricter oversight, the China Securities Journal reported

Monday, citing Zeng Gang, director of Banking Research Center with the Chinese

Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Regulators will focus on shadow banking and

cross risks in the financial sector this year, and continue cracking down on

illegal businesses. Off-balance-sheet transactions will be made more

transparent, so banks can no longer expand using shadowy transactions, the

report noted. (China Securities Journal)