BEIJING — China’s banking sector could be facing an imminent debt crisis, a global central bank watchdog has warned, fuelling fresh fears of a blowout in the world’s second-largest economy which could hit the global financial system. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) — dubbed the central bank of central banks — said a gauge of Chinese debt had hit a record high in the first quarter of the year. China’s credit-to-GDP gap reached 30.1% in the first quarter of 2016, its highest level ever and far above the 10% level thought to present a risk to a country’s banking system, the Switzerland-based bank said in a quarterly report released late Sunday. The gauge measures the difference between a country’s current credit-to-GDP ratio and its long-term trend. The BIS gave China a red signal: a warning that it could face a financial crisis in the next three years. China’s total debt hit 168.48-trillion yuan ($25-trillion) at the end of last year, equivalent to 249% of national GDP, t...
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