Recapitalisation of top banks nears
The central government is looking at options for the recapitalisation of the country's big four state banks, according to international ratings agency Standard & Poor's.
It said yesterday the three main options were a direct capital injection, the transfer of non-performing loans to asset management companies and the spinning off of the big four - largely through partial listings in Hong Kong.
'There are many interests that need to be balanced' in making the choice, said Terry Chan, S&P's director of financial services ratings.
Woefully undercapitalised, the big four state banks - the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) - need capital injections to lower non-performing loan (NPL) ratios and boost capital adequacy levels.
