One of the most surprising and potentially important stimulus policies the Chinese government has announced in recent months was its pledge to recapitalize large banks using so-called special purpose bonds. While the total amount of the recapitalization has not yet been revealed, several news outlets have reported a figure in the range of 1 trillion renminbi ($138 billion). The announcement harkened back to the late 1990s when the entire banking system was struggling under high levels of ba