“State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration: Progress in China’s Financial Regulatory Reform”

This is the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration taken on May 18.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xin

The State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration was officially launched on the 18th, marking an important step in the new round of financial regulatory reform. How is the reform of financial regulators progressing? What responsibilities will the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration undertake? The “Xinhua Viewpoint” reporter conducted an interview.

　　The new pattern of “one line, one bureau, one meeting” is accelerating to form

On the 18th, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration was officially listed. Following the establishment of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2018, the financial regulatory structure has ushered in a major adjustment. This is a major measure to deepen the reform of the financial regulatory system, strengthen and improve modern financial regulation, and promote the realization of full coverage of financial regulation.

In March of this year, my country’s financial supervision field ushered in heavy reforms. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Party and State Institutional Reform Plan”, many of which involved the field of financial supervision: the establishment of the Central Financial Commission, the establishment of the Central Financial Work Committee, the establishment of the State Financial Regulatory Administration, deepening the reform of the local financial supervision system, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The management committee was adjusted to an institution directly under the State Council, and the reform of the branches of the People’s Bank of China was coordinated…

Since the release of the reform plan, the relevant departments are intensively implementing it, and the reform is advancing steadily. On April 21, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission issued an announcement on the work arrangements for the transitional period of the transfer of corporate bond issuance review responsibilities. On April 23, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced that the 34 corporate bond projects transferred by the National Development and Reform Commission had completed the registration procedures in accordance with the law, agreed to issue registration approval documents, stabilized expectations in a timely manner, and the market responded positively. This means that the transfer of corporate bonds in the reform plan has entered the implementation stage.

The reporter also learned that the People’s Bank of China is promoting the reform of its branches according to the reform plan recently; the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which will soon become an institution directly under the State Council, has also accelerated the pace of reform and made corresponding adjustments for the transfer of some responsibilities.

With the continuous advancement of the reform of financial regulatory agencies, the new pattern of “one bank, one bureau, one committee” is accelerating. Experts said that by straightening out institutional mechanisms and improving regulatory efficiency, finance will play a better role in promoting high-quality development in services.

　　Bring all types of financial activities under supervision in accordance with the law

What responsibilities will the newly formed State Administration of Financial Supervision take on?

According to the reform plan, the responsibility of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration is to “unify and be responsible for the supervision of the financial industry except the securities industry”. Ongoing supervision” requirements.

Over the years, a major headache for financial regulators is that some emerging financial behaviors are difficult to effectively supervise according to the original departmental division of labor, and some blurred areas have appeared in the relatively clear division of banking, insurance, and securities industries. There are blind spots in financial supervision, and there is often a phenomenon of “railroad police each controlling a section”, and risks arise accordingly.

This round of reforms established the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration on the basis of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. By building a financial regulatory structure of “one bank, one bureau, and one meeting”, all legal and illegal financial behaviors are included in the supervision, so that the new financial Institutions and financial businesses cannot escape supervision, and a financial supervision system with full coverage, whole process and whole behavior has been formed.

“In this way, even if new financial institutions and financial forms emerge in the future, they will all be within the regulatory framework.” Zeng Gang, director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, said that through the adjustment of institutional settings and the optimization of responsibilities, the implementation of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be implemented. The relevant deployment of “incorporating all types of financial activities into supervision according to law” will eventually eliminate regulatory blind spots and achieve full coverage of supervision.

In addition, this institutional reform assigns the People’s Bank of China’s daily supervisory responsibility for financial holding companies and other financial groups to the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, which also reflects the concept of functional supervision from another dimension.

Experts pointed out that the establishment of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration is not a patchwork of the original regulatory framework, but an overall advancement with a focus on the overall situation. Efficiency improvement.

　　Coordinate and be responsible for the protection of financial consumer rights

According to the reform plan, the People’s Bank of China’s financial consumer protection responsibilities and the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s investor protection responsibilities are transferred to the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, which is responsible for the overall protection of financial consumer rights and interests.

Previously, the “one party and two sessions” had established consumer or investor protection agencies, and consumer protection work in the financial sector was scattered among different regulatory departments.

“With the application of platform economy and digital technology, a large number of long-tail users have infiltrated into the financial field, which puts forward higher requirements for consumer protection work.” Yin Zhentao, a researcher at the Institute of Finance, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, “The People’s Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission will The division of consumer protection and investor protection responsibilities into the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration will help strengthen the unification of standards for behavioral supervision and improve regulatory efficiency, and will also greatly reduce compliance costs and risks arising from different standards.”

In the eyes of experts, this will further strengthen the crackdown on illegal financial activities, control financial chaos, and better protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers.

Deepening the reform of the party and state institutions is an important measure to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is a centralized deployment to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities. The new financial regulatory system undoubtedly shoulders many heavy responsibilities. The adjustment of institutional functions and the reconstruction of organizational structure are only the first step. From “physical reaction” to “chemical reaction”, to achieve the predetermined goal, there is still a lot of work to be done, and there are still many hard bones to chew.

According to the plan, reform tasks at the central level should be completed by the end of 2023, and reform tasks at the local level should be completed by the end of 2024. Time is tight and tasks are heavy.

Experts said that the current financial sector needs to fully realize the importance and urgency of party and state institutional reforms, further improve political standing, strengthen determination and confidence, insist on stability, and fully implement various institutional reform tasks, so that Finance will play a greater role in serving economic and social development. (Reporters Wu Yu, Li Yanxia)