HONG KONG -- Chinese banks' wealth management units are suffering a crisis of confidence as mom-and-pop investors fled the sector after products they thought were risk-free suddenly dropped in value.
Volatile markets and a stream of redemptions at the end of last year pushed lenders' managed assets down by more than 1.36 trillion yuan ($200 billion), raising concerns about future growth for a business that supplied banks with a steady stream of fees and crucial capital for corporate bond issuers.
