BEIJING: China oversaw its largest-ever wave of rural bank mergers last year, a Reuters review of official data showed, but analysts say Beijing's efforts to tackle risks in the small banking sector could end up creating more problems down the road.
Many of the roughly 4,000 small Chinese banks are backed by indebted provincial governments and largely funded via short-term money market and interbank borrowings, potentially jeopardising financial stability in the event a few of them fail.
