Curb on loans a double blow for Citic Sec, Haitong Sec

Beijing

CHINA'S biggest brokerages are getting squeezed on two fronts as regulators curb loans to equity traders. Not only does the three-month ban on new margin-trading accounts at Citic Securities Co and Haitong Securities Co reduce their potential earnings from lending to clients, it also curbs one of the biggest buyers of the firms' own shares: margin traders.

The brokerages are among the top five holdings of investors using borrowed money, according to Shao Ziqin, a Shenzhen-based analyst for Citic, who cited calculations as at Jan 15. Of the top 20, six were brokers and seven were banks. They all plunged on Monday as the Shanghai Composite Index headed for its biggest drop since 2008.