Buffers have limited risks, says regulator

China's banking regulation chief said lenders have "more than" enough capital and urged them to extend credit to consumers and smaller companies.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, also told banks to support rural development, healthcare, energy saving and pollution reduction in an opinion piece on Bloomberg News yesterday. He cautioned that "structural bubbles threaten to emerge" in the world's third-biggest economy.

"Strong buffers", including capital, liquidity and provisioning requirements, have limited risks to the banking system from the lending surge, Liu said in the article.