Moody’s: China facing heightened financial risks from property downturn

BEIJING: Moody’s Investors Service warned that the financial risks facing China from a potential property downturn have grown as record lending has made banks more risk-prone while the government is less able to combat those risks.

China extended a record 12.65 trillion Chinese yuan (US$1.84 trillion) of loans in 2016 to support economic growth, half of which was household loans – mostly mortgages – sending new home prices to five-year highs in the year.