State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Implementing Rules for the Measures for the Administration of the Handling of the Settlement and Sale of Foreign Exchange by Banks

Issued: December 25 2014
Effective: January 1 2015

Applicability: The Rules shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the handling of the settlement and sale of foreign exchange by non-bank financial institutions unless otherwise provided by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Article 54).

Main contents: The Rules integrate the administration of market access for the spot settlement and sale of foreign exchange and the renminbi and foreign exchange derivative business of banks, and simplify the procedure for amendment of the record filing of the foreign exchange settlement and sale particulars of banks (Articles 3, 15 and 16). Furthermore, the Rules change the assessment of the overall foreign exchange settlement and sale position of banks from a daily basis to a weekly basis and eliminate the policy of linking their overall foreign exchange settlement and sale position to their foreign exchange loan-to-deposit ratio (Article 43). The authority to examine and approve the conversion of foreign exchange registered capital (operating capital) has also been delegated to local branches of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Article 25).