China to Tighten up Oversight of Financial Holding Companies
August 09, 2019 | BY
Marilyn RomeroNew draft measures proposed by China’s central bank will mean some non-financial firms will be classified as financial holding companies and will require a license to operate.
The People’s Bank of China, or PBOC, has recently released draft measures to tighten its oversight of financial holding companies as part of efforts to prevent risks to the financial sector. In a statement on its website, the PBOC said it noted how numerous non-financial companies have engaged in a “blind expansion” into the financial sector, leading to mounting risks.
“Some financial holding companies, mainly those owned or controlled by non-financial enterprises, have been expanding into the financial sector blindly, which has led to a regulatory vacuum and risk accumulation,” the central bank said.
Under the draft measures, certain non-financial firms or individual businesses that operate in at least two financial industries will be classified as financial holding companies, and will require a license from the central bank to continue operations. In addition, a financial holding company will not be allowed to run a non-financial business, a move aimed at stopping the spread of risk to the real economy.
The draft rules, which will be finalized after a period of time for public feedback which ends in late August this year, affirm the central bank’s regulatory responsibility and set entry thresholds for financial holding firms’ capital requirements, management qualification and risk parameters.
Red flags were raised last year when authorities identified HNA Group Co., Fosun International Ltd., China Evergrande Group, Tomorrow Holding Co., and internet giants such as Ant Financial as financial holding companies. Part of the proposed measures that the central bank will undertake to prevent further risks in the financial sector is to have comprehensive and continuous supervision of these firms, including their governance, capital and leverage ratios as well as related-party transactions.
The concern does not just relate to the private sector. At the end of 2016, about 70 central government-owned enterprises had a total of over 150 financial subsidiaries, according to a central bank statement in March last year. Another 28 private firms each had stakes in at least five financial units.
Also to be classified as financial holding companies are those firms with banking assets that exceed Rmb500 billion, or $71 billion; those with banking assets lower than the specified amount but other financial assets of at least Rmb100 billion; and financial units without a banking unit that have more than Rmb100 billion in assets.
The central bank also proposes to blacklist certain individuals who have falsified capital injections, or undertook illegal activities at financial entities, from becoming major or controlling shareholders in financial holding firms.
Beijing has been tightening its oversight of the country’s financial market as the government pushes ahead with its vow to open up its $44 trillion domestic financial sector to foreign investors.
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