Assets under management by China’s trust companies had grown to RMB16.3 trillion (US$2.495 trillion) by the end of 2015, up by 16% year on year, Caixin reported, citing data published by the China Trustee Association. Total industry profits were up by 17% to RMB75 billion, though the sector saw its first contraction in at least five years during the third quarter before rallying in the fourth. Regulators have technically banned non-bank lending, but default risks still exist in the industry. Caixin quoted one unnamed expert as suggesting that cases in which trust products appeared on the verge of default were “the tip of the iceberg”.
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