China has asked two of the nation’s biggest financial firms to examine the books of Zhongrong International Trust Co., potentially paving the way for a state-led rescue of the troubled shadow lender, according to people familiar with the matter.

Citic Trust Co, a unit of conglomerate Citic Group Corp., and CCB Trust Co., backed by China Construction Bank Corp., will lead the effort to stabilize operations at Zhongrong, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. It couldn’t immediately be determined what might result from their involvement, though a similar examination by Citic of Huarong Asset Management Co. led to a $6.6 billion bailout of the bad-debt manager in 2021.

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China Asks Citic to Examine Finances of Shadow Bank Zhongrong