China's banks face their 'Japanification moment', S&P report warns

China's banks are edging towards their "Japanification moment", as years of yielding margins to support the economy have "left the system thin on profitability and more exposed to credit shocks", according to a new report by S&P Global Ratings. Japanification is characterised by a prolonged period of low growth and weak profitability, similar to the state of Japan's economy after the country's asset bubble burst in the early 1990s. While other banking systems had weathered ultra-low rates by diversifying ...