A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Chinese banks must put 258bn back on books

Chinese banks have been ordered to account for about Rmb2,300 billion (€258 billion) in off-balance sheet loans in a move that could put some lenders under serious stress and require another large round of capital-raising.

China’s banking regulator has told lenders they must put all loans sold or transferred to lightly regulated Chinese trust companies back on their books and stop using “informal securitisation” to evade regulations. The repackaging of loans into securitised products has been blamed for exacerbating the crisis in the West but such complex instruments had been little used in China.– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)

North Korea offers ginseng for debt

North Korea's totalitarian regime has offered to settle part of its debt to the Czech Republic with a large consignment of ginseng rather than eat into its funds.

With the domestic economy crumbling, North Korea is feeling the impact of tighter international sanctions and is struggling to access global capital markets because of its outstanding debts of about $12 billion, two-thirds owed to former communist states.

Ginseng is an invigorating root that is supposed to improve memory, stamina and libido. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)