Court cases heap pressure on financial reforms

Mountain of private debt in Wenzhou could reach 100 billion yuan despite efforts to clear up mess

A growing mountain of debt cases being brought before courts in Wenzhou, in Zhejiang province, is threatening to further derail ongoing financial reforms in the city.

According to the latest figures, last year Wenzhou's Intermediate People's Court and its High People's Court handled 19,511 cases related to private financing, involving some 22 billion yuan ($3.52 billion), while 5,393 cases related to disputes on financial lending agreements were settled, worth 24 billion yuan.