CHINA Citic Bank Corp (stock code: 601998) doesn't hold any debt backed by United States subprime mortgage loans, it said in a statement yesterday. The company, China's eighth-biggest bank, may lose 19 million yuan (US$2.5 million) from investments in subprime loans, Capital Week reported last month, citing unidentified people at financial institutions.

Chinese banks are coming under investor scrutiny after Bank of China Ltd (stock code: 601988), the country's second biggest, said on August 23 it holds almost US$9.7 billion of securities backed by United States subprime loans, Bloomberg News reported.