Interbank transactions continued to shrink....>

CHINA: Interbank transactions continued to shrink in August as stricter

regulations took hold, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said Friday.

Interbank liabilities decreased CNY 1.4 trillion, or 1.6%, while assets declined

CNY3.2 trillion, or 13.8%, in August, compared with their levels at the

beginning of the year, the CBRC said. Small and medium-size banks whose

interbank businesses expanded rapidly saw a sharp decline in interbank

transactions, while the interbank assets of joint-stock banks dropped 45% in

August, compared with their level at the start of the year, the CBRC said. The

outstanding volume of wealth management products rose 6.5% in August, down 27

percentage points from last August, the seventh straight month of declining

growth. The value of interbank WMPs has decreased CNY2.2 trillion so far this

year, and the outstanding volume of city commercial banks' WMPs has fallen 40%

y/y, the CBRC added. As of the end of August, assets in the banking sector

totaled CNY239 trillion and loans amounted to CNY121 trillion, the CBRC said,

adding that the capital adequacy ratio was 13.2%, while the non-performing loan

ratio was 1.86%.