‘This Could Be The Last Straw’ 90% Of China Loan Guarantors Bankrupt

–  “This Could Be The Last Straw” 90% Of China Loan Guarantors Bankrupt (ZeroHedge, July 7, 2014):

In Wenzhou – dubbed the capital of China’s private businesses – nearly 90 per cent of loan guarantors have failed since the start of the credit crisis arising from the underground banking system, according to the media. As SCMP reports, although their services are critical for the economic system and the millions of small firms – that provide the majority of the mainland’s jobs – hundreds of loan guarantee groups are creaking under the weight of bad loans and are simply unable to bear any more. “It could become the last straw that breaks the camel’s back,” exclaims the head of a local law firm, “without the privately owned small businesses, China’s economy won’t have a future.” But PMIs are up so everything’s fine?

As The South China Morning Post reports,

Mainland loan guarantors have found themselves ensnared in the woes of the underground banking sector following a fresh wave of bankruptcies around the country.

Creaking under the weight of bad debts, hundreds of guarantee groups would be unable to bear even more, although their services are critical for the economic system and the millions of small firms that provide the majority of the mainland’s jobs.

“It is by all means a risky business,” said Wang Xiao, a Zhejiang entrepreneur who invests in a loan guarantee business. “An increasing number of loan defaults will soon force us to close down the business.”

In Wenzhou, nearly 90 per cent of loan guarantors have failed since the start of the credit crisis arising from the underground banking system, according to the media.

The city, dubbed the capital of China’s private businesses, had pinned hopes on the companies offering capital guarantee services to bail out troubled small companies when Beijing allowed it to legalise the underground banks.

“It could become the last straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Yan Yipan, the head of law firm Zhejiang Panyuan, which mainly deals with cases related to financing. “Without the loan guarantee services, it will be more difficult for small companies to do business.”

Rampant loan-shark schemes in Wenzhou resulted in the collapse of the city’s economy, with dozens of underground banking operators and investors either committing suicide or fleeing the country.

The government felt loan guarantors could bridge the gap between cash-hungry businesses and financial institutions. Borrowers without enough collateral could use loan guarantee services to access much-needed funds. The guarantors normally charge 3 per cent of the loan amount as fees.

“Three per cent fee looks good, but a loan default would be equivalent to the total profits made from dozens of deals,” Wang said.

At the end of last year, there were more than 8,000 licensed loan guarantors, with most of them focusing on serving small enterprises. The companies had a combined registered capital of 880 billion yuan (HK$1.1 trillion), according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Online consultancy Forward said financing demands from the small firms topped 16 trillion yuan in 2012. Indeed, thousands of illegal loan guarantors have been offering guarantee services for the underground banks in the past decade. In April, a bank run in Sheyang, Jiangsu province, was sparked by the collapse of illegal loan guarantors.

In Guangdong, the financial authorities said more than 30 loan guarantors had failed so far this year, while in Sichuan, the provincial government revoked 12 loan guarantee licences. The problems with loan guarantors would weigh further on a mainland leadership already buffeted by complaints about the way government treats small firms.

“Without the privately owned small businesses, China’s economy won’t have a future,” said Song Weiping, the chairman of developer Greentown China. “They are the babies and they should be looked after carefully.”

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As with any centrally planned economy, the facts are nebulous but it seems that between record low coal prices, multi-month high money market rates (demand for liquidity), multi-month lows in employment indices (under the covers of the PMI headlines), and the ongoing CCFD ponzi unwind that things are far from the picture of stability painted to the rest of the world.

Of course, any further actions by the government to control (or help) the situation may end up looking this…

 

2 thoughts on “‘This Could Be The Last Straw’ 90% Of China Loan Guarantors Bankrupt”

  1. They are playing with money that doesn’t exist. Of course they are going broke, they had no viable right to be in business in the first place. This type of cheating is one of the reasons China will never be the #1 economy…….they are no longer credible.
    As greedy corporations are pulling the plug on China, moving their MFG to Vietnam and other poor nations, it is all coming apart. Like any Ponzi scheme, it can only work when more money is coming in…….and just like what is happening in the US……..money is leaving in droves.
    In the meantime, Russia rebuilds it’s gas pipeline to avoid the Ukraine and continues to re-assert it’s power as a credible world leader. First thing is financial stability which Putin is putting together brilliantly.
    Oh, why can we not get such a leader? Not a demigod, but a man who can think and work on behalf of our nation. Oh no, all we get are corporate shills like Obama.
    Obama is the first person to be editor of the Harvard Review without submitting a single paper. He was planned and planted years ago. He is truly a Manchurian Candidate.

    Reply

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