Financial institutions face more losses

By Wang Jianfen and Tong Hao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-03 19:20

Financial institutions worldwide are facing another $2.6 trillion losses in bad loans and assets in coming years, one of China's top economic planners said Friday.

"International Monetary Fund estimates that the financial crisis will lead to loan and assets losses of up to $4.1 trillion among financial institutes worldwide and the current figure detected is $1.5 trillion," Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said during the Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing.

Zhang said the most dangerous period of the crisis has already passed but depression will continue. "I guess it will take half a year, one year or even longer [for the world economy] to walk out of the crisis," he said.

Macro policies are facing huge challenges at present, according to Zhang.

"If performance of enterprises sees no improvement and unemployment rate continues to rise, the macro economy and financial market can never get better," he said.

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