BEIJING -- The Chinese Communist Party's anti-corruption unit has dispatched inspectors to 25 financial companies, including top state-owned banks, in what appears to be a crackdown prompted by the Evergrande debt crisis.

Fifteen teams from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will conduct a two-month review of the institutions, pushing them to "hold fast to the bottom line of no systemic financial risks," the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, reported Thursday.

The probe comes as China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted property developer, this week missed its third bond interest payment in less than a month, fueling fears of an imminent default unless a cash infusion arrives. The group's disorderly, debt-fueled pursuit of growth has come to a head at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has been calling for "common prosperity."

Institutions under investigation include the People's Bank of China -- the country's central bank -- and the big four state-owned banks of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China. State-owned conglomerates like Citic Group are also under scrutiny.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange and China Huarong Asset Management, a bad-debt manager whose former chairman was sentenced to death for corruption, are on the list as well.

China's leadership has been concerned by the lending financial institutions extended to Evergrande. With the Communist Party set to reshuffle its leadership at a party congress in the fall of 2022, Xi appears to be asserting more control over the financial sector by keeping its largest players under watch.

The Chinese government has also been cracking down on Ant Group, the financial unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, as well as ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing. There is speculation that loans to and investments in these companies could face scrutiny in the bank probe as well.