China's banks break lending record as troubled firms borrow more

China’s banks extended RMB11.1 trillion (US$169.8 billion) in new loans for the January-November period this year, already topping last year’s total lending, Caixin reported, citing calculations based on official data. Borrowing this year has been driven by bank loans to troubled firms that needed cash to pay off old debt, as well as mortgage and transport infrastructure, the magazine cited an unnamed source near the central bank as saying. The banks were sometimes forced by local governments to extend loans to such companies because officials feared potential social instability should the firms collapse, according to one risk-management executive.