Central-bank official criticizes wealth management industry

A senior central-bank official said the wealth management industry should be restructured as fears grow over these largely unregulated funds becoming bloated stores of bad debt, Reuters reported. Liu Shiyu, a deputy governor of China’s central bank, said the sector has pushed up funding costs for Chinese companies and encouraged savers to act like gamblers. Fuelled by savers’ and companies’ thirst for higher returns, China’s wealth management sector has exploded in recent years. However, while wealth management products have rocketed in popularity, the opaque nature of the sector has fed concerns about the industry’s health.