NEW YORK–Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has asked regulators to be vigilant about keeping American investors safe from “hazards” connected with a provision in the latest U.S.-China trade deal that encourages investment in China’s non-performing loan market.
The “Phase One” deal announced in January includes an agreement that allows U.S. financial firms to apply for licenses to acquire non-performing loans directly from Chinese banks, Infosurhoy.com said.
Such arrangements, especially those with state-owned enterprises, are risky, Rubio wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr. Copies also went to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton and top Department of Justice prosecutors.
“I urge you to vigilantly identify and enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases involving the sale of distressed debt by Chinese financial and nonfinancial companies to American firms,” Rubio wrote. “This supervision will serve to safeguard American investors from the financial and legal hazards associated with these new, high-risk institutional relationships.”