Asia Bankers Fear US Scrutiny of Loans Involving Chips, China

Some bankers in Asia are starting to worry about financing deals that would grant Chinese end-users remote access to advanced US chips amid the escalating battle between the world’s two superpowers for artificial intelligence dominance.

At least nine bankers at global lenders that have financed or been pitched such deals have expressed concerns in private that their firms could be caught in the crossfire and face more US scrutiny, according to people familiar with the matter. Some transactions and pitches have sparked internal debate on whether the risk-reward is worth it anymore, the people said, asking not be identified discussing ...