Cheaper credit and a bit of political prodding appear to have increased the flow of lending to China’s struggling private sector.
But most loan applications are still being rejected while approvals come with stiffened collateral and due diligence requirements, as banks try to balance the competing priorities of managing risk with political calls to support the economy.
Our survey of 36 small and medium-sized private companies found 16 of the respondents, or 45 per cent, saying it was easy to get a collateralised bank loan, up from just 6 per cent last September. As a result, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had borrowed from banks over the past 12 months, compared with less than half previously.