Huarong Asset Management

Huarong, China's largest 'bad bank,' nearly collapsed in 2021 after its chairman was executed for corruption. The state-owned company had strayed from its mandate of managing distressed debt into speculative investments, accumulating $22 billion in losses. Like an organism whose regulatory function becomes corrupted, Huarong transformed from a system stabilizer into a systemic risk, requiring a $6.6 billion government bailout.