China’s Big Banks Face Fallout as Pandemic Forbearance Expires

China’s Big Banks Face Fallout as Pandemic Forbearance Expires
A security official and a man walk past a signboard of Bank of China at its branch in Beijing, on March 26, 2013. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

BEIJING/SHANGHAI—China’s largest state-owned banks are readied for rising bad debt and increased margin pressure in the months ahead as forbearance policies designed to give borrowers breathing space during the coronavirus crisis expire.

All five banks, which have been raising provisions to counter expected losses due to rising soured loans, have reported their biggest profit falls in at least a decade.