Many people are worried about shadow banking, finance which exists outside of regulated banks, in China. Fitch, the rating agency, has raised alarms about its growing presence in the country and critics cite countless examples of seemingly risky and irresponsible lending in warning that a financial crisis looms.
许多人担心中国的影子银行业，即受监管的银行以外的金融。评级机构惠誉(Fitch)对中国影子银行业日益壮大提出了警告，同时批评者援引无数似乎高风险且不负责任的放贷警告称，一场金融危机正在酝酿中。
Whether shadow banking really is a worrying danger or merely evidence of a maturing financial system depends on its magnitude and risk profile. Various estimates indicate that the sector has doubled its share of new credit from about 20 per cent in 2008 to 40 per cent by June 2013, at which point it accounted for roughly a quarter of the outstanding credit stock.
影子银行业是一个令人担忧的危险，还是只是证明了金融体系趋于成熟？这取决于它的规模和风险状况。数个不同的估计显示，影子银行业占新增信贷的比例已从2008年的约20%翻了一番，至2013年6月的40%，其规模大约占到未偿贷款存量的四分之一。
Meanings of shadow banking vary but a useful definition for risk assessment purposes would include only systemically important activities linked to the formal banking sector, such as wealth management products, bankers’ acceptances, trust products and entrust loans while omitting marginal forms of lending. Estimates that are in line with this definition place shadow banking at about 50-60 per cent of GDP or about 25-30 per cent of banking assets. The Financial Stability Board estimates that shadow banking represents 117 per cent of GDP and 52 per cent of banking assets worldwide, more than double their respective levels in China, where the concerns are more about the rapid growth of the sector rather than its overall size.
影子银行业有许多不同含义，但从风险评估目的出发，一个有用的定义是只包括与正规银行业体系有联系的、具有系统重要性的活动，比如理财产品、银行承兑汇票、信托产品和委托贷款，而不包括边际贷款形式。与这种定义相符的估计是，影子银行业占到国内生产总值(GDP)的50%-60%，或者大约占到银行业资产的25%-30%。金融稳定委员会(Financial Stability Board)估计，全球而言，影子银行业占到GDP的117%，以及银行业资产的52%，全都是中国水平的两倍多。在中国，人们更担心的是影子银行业的快速增长，而不是其整体规模。