China Needs Bailout, Capital Plans for Crisis Event: PBOC's Ma

(Bloomberg) -- People's Bank of China adviser Ma Jun has probed the economy for triggers of financial turbulence, and proposed measures including direct bailouts of enterprises and bank re-capitalization should a crisis hit.

Property bubbles, local government contingent debt, the heavy reliance on land sales for financing or the shadow banking sector could set off a major crisis in China, according to Ma's article published on the Wechat account of PBOC-affiliated magazine China Finance.

He said actions should be taken in advance to prevent risks from materializing, including:

• “Full attention” to smaller banks, such as joint-stock, city and rural lenders, as their role in generating systemic risks may “very likely exceed expectations”
• Revision to the central bank law to enhance the PBOC's ability to make decisions more independently and giving forward guidance
• Allowing more types of financial institutions other than commercial banks to be able to participate in bond trading to improve the liquidity of the market

Invention ranging from direct bailout of enterprises, capital injections of small banks and revision of rules on market trading could be used, according to the article. Regulators could also benefit from better preparation such as making a list in advance of institutions that may be hit and a workflow of intervention, it said.

Policy makers have increased emphasis on financial stability in recent years, while the macro leverage ratio has stabilized. Risks could still escalate as the economy slows and the trade conflict with the U.S. remains unsolved. The PBOC has warned that China could face so-called “gray rhino” financial risks -- meaning the economy faces highly probable and high-impact threats that're often been neglected.

Ma's article is based on results of a recent research project entitled "Early Warning, Contagion and Intervention of Financial Crisis" by Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance. The project reviewed Japan's asset bubble crisis in the 1990s, the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis, the European debt crisis and China's A-share rout in 2015.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net

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