With late night social media post, Chinese state lender underscores anxious mood of nation
Late on Tuesday night, the Agricultural Bank of China took the unusual step of turning to social media to rebut media rumours it was under special scrutiny by the industry watchdog.
The bank, one of the nation’s Big Four lenders, admitted the regulator was carrying out a review of its operations, but said the process was standard and prearranged. Its wealth management business had not been singled out for special scrutiny, the bank said on its official Weibo account at 10.50pm on Tuesday, contradicting the media reports.
The bank’s refutation on its Weibo account, which is otherwise filled with basic financial advice and quotes from fortune cookies, came at a time of high anxiety over China’s money market. The People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, has become less generous in providing funds, while the industry watchdog, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, is pressing lenders to clean up their shadow banking activities.
“From the perspective of financial stability, there is still strong financial stress in the system at the moment, no matter whether it’s the total debt level or its problematic structures,” said Li Wei, professor of economics at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. “Any small sign of disturbance could reverberate in the market.”
