China sets up task force to monitor subprime exposure

China has established a task force to monitor the U.S. subprime exposure held by domestic lenders as worries over the impact of the mortgage crisis intensifies, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission, the main industry watchdog, will send a team to examine the subprime holdings of China's major banks and report on a monthly basis, the newspaper said.

A spokesman of the agency declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.

There have been mounting concerns in Beijing over the impact of US subprime default and subsequent credit crunch on the balance sheets of Chinese banks.

Analysts have said Bank of China, believed to have the largest subprime exposure among Asian financial institutions, would set aside larger than expected provisions for subprime losses.

But the bank dismissed worries over its bottom line.

"The bank's after-tax profit continued to grow in 2007," the bank said in a statement with the Shanghai Stock Exchange late Tuesday.