Guest view: Virus may give Chinese banks M&A bug

Bank of Jinzhou Co

03/03/2020 02:21

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews guest columnist.  The
opinions expressed are his own.)
    By Fraser Howie
    HONG KONG, March 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The outbreak is
infecting the financial system. Lenders must provide new loans,
roll over existing ones and cut rates. More small institutions
might founder. The crisis, argues author Fraser Howie, creates
an opening for consolidation, so long as bailouts have strings
attached.
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/petesweeneypro 
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    - Chinese banks extended a record 3.3 trillion yuan ($476
billion) in new yuan loans in January, up from 1.1 trillion yuan
in December and exceeding analyst expectations, according to
data released by the People's Bank of China on Feb. 20.
    - The PBOC cut the benchmark loan prime rate on the same
day, lowering the one-year rate by 10 basis points to 4.05% from
4.15%.
    - Fraser Howie is an investment banker and co-author of “Red
Capitalism, The Fragile Financial Foundations of China’s
Extraordinary Rise”.
    -  For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  SWEENEY/ 
    - SIGN UP FOR BREAKINGVIEWS EMAIL ALERTS: http://bit.ly/BVsubscribe

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China Jan new bank loans hit record, more policy support seen   
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BREAKINGVIEWS-Chinese consumers imperil V-shaped virus rebound  
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 (Editing by Pete Sweeney and Katrina Hamlin)