中國影子銀行風險不容低估

In the past decade, shadow banking has taught China great lessons about capitalism. That is, except for the Most important one: failure.

過去十年，影子銀行教給了中國一些關於資本主義的重要課程，只除了最重要的一課：失敗。

Since the 2007 financial crisis, China has poured more than $600bn into the economy to avoid getting caught in the downturn. Alongside the formal bank loans have been a flood of money from the informal or “shadow” economy. These loans have been funnelled through a variety of financial institutions, including government-owned trusts, investment banks, Mom and Pop shops and even the state banks. Shadow finance amounts to approximately 80 per cent of China’s GDP, up from less than 10 per cent a decade ago.

自2007年金融危機以來，中國向國內經濟注資逾6000億美元，以避免陷入低迷。除了正規銀行貸款以外，還有從非正規或“影子”經濟流入的大量資金。這些貸款通過各種金融機構彙集，包括政府旗下信託機構，投行，小本經營的機構，甚至國有銀行。影子金融規模相當於中國國內生產總值(GDP)的近80%，而十年前還不足10%。

One corner of this shadow market has been an important teacher of capitalism to the ordinary consumer: wealth management products (WMPs). These financial instruments have ballooned into a $4tn market and include everything from investments in commercial property to a small business or a corporate bond.

在這個影子市場的一處角落，有一位對於普通投資者非常重要的資本主義老師：理財產品。這些金融工具已經膨脹成一個4萬億美元的市場，囊括了從商業地產投資到小企業投資或公司債券等一切事物。

With the growth of WMPs, Chinese citizens have been able to avoid the casino-like stock market, and the paltry returns from savings deposits in the banks, and put their money into new projects.

隨着理財產品的增長，中國老百姓得以避開賭場般的股票市場，以及銀行儲蓄存款那點兒微不足道的回報，他們可以將自己的資金投入到新項目上。