Chinese banks fear credit risks in industries with overcapacity

The greatest credit risk that Chinese banks faced in 2015 was related to the loans to industries mired in overcapacity, according to a survey released on Sunday.

Eighty-two percent of bankers said primary credit risks remained in industries such as iron, steel, cement and shipping, according to the survey jointly released by the China Banking Association and the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Polling more than 1,300 bankers from 116 financial institutions, the survey found that 67 percent of the bankers favor supporting city infrastructure the most, followed by the medical industry, information technology services and transportation. Restrictive credit policies applied to metallurgical, real estate, paper making, textile and ship-building industries.

The survey showed that the bankers are not optimistic about their profit earning efficiency in the coming three years, with 60 percent expecting an annual profit growth at less than 10 percent.

Around half of the surveyed bankers said they will increase investment in the Internet finance.