Britain’s banks are not materially exposed to the Chinese property giant Evergrande, according Bank of England deputy governor Sam Woods.
Speaking to Reuters, Woods said he does not expect Evergrande, which owes well over US$300bn, to "go badly wrong".
"The direct exposures of the UK banks and insurance companies to Evergrande are not material, so it's really not a concern in the first round effect," Woods told Reuters.
"But the question on everyone's mind is how will the authorities choose to handle this in China, and could it represent something broader? Obviously at some point that could become something that we need to worry about."
"My base case is it won't go badly wrong," Woods said.
"I am very cautiously optimistic the Chinese authorities will want to find a way through it that doesn't create a kind of major issue."
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John Lau, the Head of Asian Equities and Senior Portfolio Manager at SEI, said foreign investor exposure to Evergrande is limited to the property company’s US$18bn in foreign currency bonds.
“The most likely outcome would be an orderly restructuring of Evergrande’s debts and unfinished projects rather than an unmanaged collapse or government-backed bailout,” Lau said.
He noted that priority in restructuring is like to be given to homebyers, so there could be steep creditor losses that could push some companies into default.
Analysts at Capital Economics said that while the developed property markets may see some upheaval “we think the impacts [of the Evergrande crisis] outside China are unlikely to be severe or lasting”.