Global auditing firm Ernst and Young has withdrawn a report saying China's non-performing loans (NPLs) totaled over US$900 billion, apologizing for what it called an "erroneous" publication.
"As it contains errors, we are withdrawing the report," the firm said in a statement. "We apologize that this erroneous report was issued. We sincerely regret any misleading views that the report conveyed."
The size of China's bad loans is a figure of immense importance, as it serves as a measure of the banking sector's financial health.
Ernst and Young's decision came after China's central bank said the report, which claimed NPLs for the four large state-owned commercial banks totaled US$358 billion, "seriously distorted" the actual situation.
In its statement retracting the Non-Performing Loan Report, issued on May 3, Ernst and Young said a US$911 billion estimate for China's NPLs had been based on the wrong assumptions.
"Throughout the report this amount was identified as a potential future amount that includes NPLs totaling approximately US$358 billion for the big four commercial banks," it said.
"Upon further research, Ernst and Young Global finds that this number cannot be supported, and believes it to be factually erroneous," it said.
It said the report had not gone through the normal internal review and approval process before it was released to the public.
China's central bank, which was not immediately available for comment yesterday, had adopted unusually harsh vocabulary to refute Ernst and Young's claims in a statement posted on its Web site late last week.
"The report not only seriously distorts the actual assets quality of the Chinese banking sector, its statements on several financial institutions are also seriously wrong and its conclusions are absurd and incomprehensible," the People's Bank of China Web site quoted an unnamed official as saying.
Ernst and Young said the firm was alerted to the mistake by its China branch, but said it had not been approached by the Chinese central bank or other Chinese authorities on the errors.
"Quality and integrity is what we believe in, and we have to do it right," said Annesa Leung (
The company hoped the mistake would not impact the firm's business in China, she said.
Ernst and Young's report, widely quoted earlier this month, came as foreign institutions continued to move into the Chinese banking sector and as the nation's big banks sought a higher international profile.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS