Caixin reports that growth in China’s shadow banking activities has slowed since the latter half of 2016, amid stepped up efforts by regulators to crackdown on risky practices, rating agency Moody’s Investors Services said Monday. Tightening liquidity in financial markets has also meant less money has been flowing into the sector, which some analysts say has too much leverage, creates dangerous asset-liability mismatches and reduces transparency. China’s shadow banking assets grew to 64.5 trillion yuan ($9.4 trillion) in 2016, an increase of 21% compared with a year earlier, according to the report released on Monday. Its growth has slowed markedly from the 30% year-on-year increase recorded in 2015. But shadow banking assets still accounted for 87% of the country’s GDP and 28.5% of total banking assets in 2016. Moody’s uses a very broad definition for shadow banking activities. It includes entrusted loans, trust loans and undiscounted bankers’ acceptances.
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