Credit card defaults surge across China as older borrowers struggle to repay debt

China is facing a surge in credit card delinquencies from a seemingly unlikely source: middle-aged borrowers who otherwise look like model citizens, with university educations and secure public-sector jobs. Chinese banks once rushed to lend to this group, confident they would easily be able to pay their bills. But defaults are now rising so quickly amid an economic slowdown that lenders are ramping up efforts to dispose of their non-performing loan portfolios. The past quarter saw a roughly 50..