S&P holds positive outlook on pilot reform
By Sun Min (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-12-01 10:04

Global rating agency Standard & Poor's yesterday affirmed a positive outlook on reforms in the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, two pilot State-owned banks chosen for shareholding restructuring and public listings.

The quality of assets of the two banks has improved significantly as shown by decreases in their reported non-performing loans (NPL) and increases in their loan loss provision coverage, said Paul Coughlin, Managing Director of Standard & Poor's Corporate and Government Ratings in Asia.

Though they still have to face major challenges as how to prevent new NPLs and implement changes in their management structures and credit culture, the outlook of the reforms is positive, given the government's strong support and the banks' own commitment, he said.

"Over the past year, China's banking industry has turned a corner," Coughlin told China Daily in an interview in Beijing yesterday.

The government have put more emphasis on financial reform and regulators have done better work in supervising and reshaping the banking industry, he said.

The Bank of China and the China Construction Bank have both been investing heavily in new technologies and credit management systems as well as increasing levels of central control over branches and other outlets.

Their moves may help improve their profitability and efficiency, said Coughlin.

Moreover, the Chinese Government injected US$45 billion of capital into the two banks last December. And more of their NPLs were taken over by specialized asset management companies this year, greatly relieving their historic burdens.

However, whether the reform measures will really pay off in the long term and whether the profitability can be maintained are still major challenges for the banks in the future.

It is not easy to quickly change the culture of a bank. And there are still many local executives to be trained to implement the new management system, said Coughlin.

For foreign investors that are considering making investment in the Chinese State banks, whether the banks can provide a strong management team to operate the new system remains a common concern.

The remaining two of the Big Four banks the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, who also plan to become joint stock banks in the future, continue to face tremendous work in restructuring.

Coughlin said the two remaining banks are also expected to receive government bail-outs at an appropriate time in the next two to three years, which would cost the government around US$160 billion.

Close