Global banks eye China’s structured products surge

Following a government crackdown on local products, foreign banks look to open joint ventures onshore

For investment banks eyeing a move into China’s glinting wealth management market, the stars seem to have lined up nicely.

A confluence of factors has led to an explosion in structured products, derivatives-linked investments sold by banks, in the first half of this year. China clamped down on traditional wealth management products, a trillion-dollar market hawking products that carried, if little else, an assumed guarantee against loss. Structured products, which can still offer some form of