Now some concrete data is starting to emerge regarding the potential size of the problems that may be lurking on China's bank balance sheets — in particular, the losses that may be incurred from risky stimulus loans made to development entities (known by some as LGFVs, or Local Government Financial Vehicles) sponsored and supposedly guaranteed by provincial and local governments. Earlier this year, China's central government nullified those guarantees, noting that local authorities often lacked the financial wherewithall to stand behind them. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), which had previously been touting such loans as safer-than-safe, launched an internal study to get some handle on just how big a problem they have on their hands.