Chinese watchdog says risks in smaller banks generally under control

BEIJING (Reuters) – Risks in China’s medium-sized and small banks are generally under control despite some individual banks having engaged in criminal activities, the vice chairman of the country’s banking and insurance regulator said on Thursday.

Authorities will draw up risk-disposal strategies for those in trouble and push to replenish their capital, Xiao Yuanqi told a briefing, adding that about 5.3 trillion yuan of non-performing assets at smaller banks have been resolved in the past five years.

Three banks in China’s central Henan province have frozen at least $178 million of deposits, leaving businesses unable to pay workers and individuals locked out of savings, depositors told Reuters.

(Reporting by Tina Qiao and Ryan Woo; Editing by David Goodman)