China pushes for more small business lending despite bad loans rising

China's banking regulator urged commercial banks on Friday to increase lending to riskier small businesses and the rural sector, even though the banking sector reported a jump in troubled loans in the first quarter. "Commercial banks must utilize the government's current policy support to further improve their financial services to micro and small businesses," Zhou Mubing, vice chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), told reporters at a briefing. Currently, China's commercial ban