America’s largest lenders were divided on adding new investments into their China businesses in 2020, according to annual filings, as political tensions rose under the former Trump administration.
Overall, five of the largest banks in the U.S. saw their total exposure in China increase 10 percent year-on-year as of 2020-end, according to annual filings.
Leading the pack was Goldman Sachs which saw a 33 percent spike to $17.5 billion across a broad range of financing activities with companies and government entities.
J.P. Morgan’s exposure rose 10.4 percent to $21.2 billion, driven by trading and investing, and Citi’s exposure increased 16.6 percent to $21.8 billion, driven primarily by investment securities and consumer banking loans.
Reduced Exposure
In contrast, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America both registered reductions in net exposure to mainland China.
Morgan Stanley’s exposure slipped 5 percent to $3.9 billion while BofA’s exposure fell 13.9 percent to $13.4 billion – both due to a cutback in lending activities.
