Wall Street Journal: “Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told a national audience on Tuesday that Chinas state-controlled banks are a “monopoly” that must be broken up, in a blunt appeal for a shake-up of the creaky financial system of the worlds No. 2 economy.
温家宝 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In an evening broadcast on state-run China National Radio, Mr. Wen told an audience of business leaders that Chinas tightly controlled banking system needs to change. “Let me be frank. Our banks earn profit too easily. Why? Because a small number of large banks have a monopoly,” said Mr. Wen, according to the transcript of the program on the broadcasters website. “To break the monopoly, we must allow private capital to flow into the finance sector.
Mr. Wen’s comments tap into a rich vein of popular anger against Chinas biggest banks that has been building in recent months online and in the media. The backlash was initially prompted by frustration at what has been perceived as banks’ payments of low interest rates on deposits and indiscriminate levying of fees. It has worsened in recent weeks as lenders posted record profits, even as the economy slows and some companies struggle to access credit.”
via Wen Appeals to Shake Up Bank System – WSJ.com.
So it’s not only Western, capitalist banks that are in people’s bad books!
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 