The Chinese government has extended the maturity of bonds used to bail out one of the country's largest banks in an accounting move that will further delay a final reckoning for the banking crisis that hit China a decade ago.

China Construction Bank, now the world's second-largest bank by market capitalisation, said yesterday the Ministry of Finance had issued an order for Rmb247bn ($36bn) worth of 10-year bonds held on the bank's balance sheet to be rolled over for another 10 years.

The announcement is a timely reminder of the unstable foundations of China's new-found banking success and comes at a time when concerns are being raised over a whole new crop of bad loans emerging from a government-led lending binge this year. The decision to roll the bonds over for another decade essentially delays another government bail-out of CCB that would have had to come from the Ministry of Finance.