The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) on Tuesday posted revised guidelines on its website regarding the ownership of stakeholders and custodians at commercial banks, as regulators intensify a crackdown on financial risks.
The guidelines aim to support the CBIRC’s supervision work on commercial banks, by enhancing their equity management and improving the transparency of equity information.
It requires unlisted commercial banks to register their stakeholders with qualified custodians by end-June 2020, and all commercial banks to identify their shareholders by the end of 2021.
People film the new China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) sign outside its office in Beijing, China, April 8, 2018. /Reuters Photo
Before the new guidelines, only banks listed in the main stock market and over-the-counter market needed to register their stakeholders with custodian institutions such as regional equity exchanges, according to the banking and insurance regulator.
“In recent years, some banks have seen chaotic issues on ownership due to weak corporate governance,” the CBIRC said in a separate statement elaborating on the guidelines.
“Therefore, from the perspective of prudential supervision, CBIRC now requires unlisted commercial banks to register with legally established custodians as well.”
The banking regulator is stepping up a campaign of fighting financial risk following the state takeover in May of small-sized Baoshang Bank amid concerns about how its major shareholder had used bank funds.
The takeover was a standalone case, triggered by the improper and illegal use of significant bank funds by Tomorrow Holdings, which held 89 percent of Baoshang's shares, leading to a serious credit crisis at the bank, according to a previous statement of the central bank.
(With input from Reuters)