Call for closer scrutiny of shadow banking

The prestigious China Academy of Social Sciences has called for closer supervision of so-called shadow banking, which has grown to more than 20.5 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion) in total assets - roughly 16 percent of the aggregate of the entire banking system.

In its latest annual financial market report, the academy said that by operating outside the official banking system, shadow banking has helped enhance the efficient allocation of deposits and applied innovative financial methods to promote the reform of China's interest rate liberalization. But certain problems have been exposed in terms of the development of China's shadow banking system.

"The shadow banking sector in China, which is vaguely defined but mainly includes trust companies and the investment in wealth management products using clients' capital, has developed rapidly since 2010," said Rui Meng, a professor of finance and accounting, at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.