Asia Financiers Looking Askance at Western Banks

Bankers and regulators across Asia have grown wary of the big US banks they once invited to underwrite major moves, the Economist reports. One Chinese regulator described the West’s big banks to the magazine as “shit,” among signs the East no longer trusts the West’s wisdom, or its regulation model, in the wake of the subprime collapse and the resulting credit crunch.

“After the death, the doctor came,” one Chinese banking reformer noted. Its faith shaken, China is closing doors to Western companies; many banks awaiting approvals for big deals have heard only silence. If this truly sets back China’s march towards a freer market, the Economist warns, it will cost Chinese start-ups investment capital, and force China's people to use subpar banks. (More China stories.)