(Yicai Global) Feb. 20 -- China’s top banking and insurance regulator has imposed fines totaling nearly CNY400 million (USD58.3 million) on five Chinese lenders for various irregularities, including misappropriation of funds and illicit loans.

State-owned China Construction Bank was fined CNY200 million for 38 violations, including illicit issuance of property and fixed asset loans, illegal inflow of credit card funds into brokerages, bundling loan issues with the purchase of wealth management products, and illicit increase of capital, according to a notice the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued on Feb. 17.

Nine former CCB executives were also punished, with four of them fined CNY50,000 (USD7,300) each.

Bank of China received a CNY32.8 million (USD4.8 million) fine for seven violations, such as issuing loans dedicated for small and micro firms to borrowers from the property and banking sectors and individual commercial loans to staff and government officials, the CBIRC said.

Standard Chartered Bank China, the Chinese unit of UK lender Standard Chartered Bank, was fined CNY49.7 million for 39 violations, including unclear boundaries of responsibility with its parent company, a lack of management independence, offering staff mortgages at rates below the minimum required by the government, and loose enforcement of down payment ratio and interest rates on home loans, according to the CBIRC.

China Minsheng Bank and China Bohai Bank were fined CNY89.7 million and CNY16.6 million, respectively, because of violations such as the illicit loans to the property industry, the CBIRC said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione