China's Financial Watchdog Talks Up Progress in Preventing, Defusing Risks
Xu Wei
DATE:  Jul 05 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China's Financial Watchdog Talks Up Progress in Preventing, Defusing Risks China's Financial Watchdog Talks Up Progress in Preventing, Defusing Risks

(Yicai Global) July 4 -- China has made solid progress in averting and resolving financial risks, especially among peer-to-peer lenders, according to the vice chairman of the country's banking and insurance regulator.

The number of P2P lenders has fallen 57 percent since the start of 2018, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's Zhou Liang said at a press conference today.

The CBIRC has also dismantled high-risk shadow banking, reducing complex structured high-risk assets by CNY13.74 trillion (USD2 trillion) over the past two years, effectively containing a situation where money exited the real economy for the virtual economy.

The CBIRC has imposed fines of CNY6 billion (USD873.2 million) over the past two years, more than the sum of penalties in the previous decade, Zhou added.

Regulators conducted 1,466 investigations at insurers last year, dispatching 9,793 staff in total, CBIRC Vice Chairman Liang Tao said at the same briefing. Regulators at all levels will continue to check on obvious risks and problems in the insurance sector. The probes mostly involved corporate governance, solvency, capital use, auto insurance, agricultural insurance and short-term health insurance.

Zhou also said that the financial sector's quality and effectiveness in serving the real economy have been improving. Banks and insurance companies work hard to increase effective supply, fully mobilizing credit, bonds, equity and insurance funds to ensure financing and meet the needs of economic and social development.

In the first half, new yuan-denominated loans totaled more than CNY9 trillion, and the insurance sector paid over CNY620 million (USD90.2 million) in insurance claims and benefits.

The CBIRC also made great efforts to ease difficulties at small- and micro private companies and their high financing costs, Zhou said. The balance of inclusive financial loans for such firms exceeded CNY10 trillion at the end of last month, with growth significantly higher than other loans, he added, without providing specific growth rates for the various loans.

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Keywords:   CBIRC,Bank