In Depth: China Overhauls $23 Trillion Supply Chain Finance Mechanism

By Zhu Liangtao, Zhang Yuzhe and Denise Jia

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As of the end of November 2021, commercial acceptance bills accounted for 4.51% of the total assets of domestic banks.

China is about to rein in its booming, 167.23 trillion ($23 trillion) market for commercial acceptance bills, a risky, controversial form of business financing that played a role in the 2019 collapse of Inner Mongolia-based regional lender Baoshang Bank.

Stung by that financial calamity, China’s central bank and top banking regulatory agency are about to overhaul the 25-year-old regulations governing the bills. The rapid growth in their use in recent years and their involvement in fraudulent financing and other violations spurred regulators to close loopholes and tighten supervision of the instruments.