China’s new banking regulator head lays out aggressive plan

BEIJING - When he was China’s top securities regulator, Guo Shuqing won a reputation for being one of the country’s most reform-minded officials for changes he made in stock markets that had long been plagued by Government interference and insider trading. Four years later, the 60-year-old Guo is facing equally formidable challenges as he assumes oversight of China’s RMB232 trillion (US$ 33.6 trillion) banking industry, which is burdened by rising bad loans and off-balance-sheet activities.

At his first news conference after taking office as Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Guo immediately vowed to crack down on shadow lending, to enhance supervision over banking’s wealth management sector, and to curb risky financing activities.
Caixin reported that Guo’s past leads many to believe he is about to revamp the banking sector.
During his tenure as Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Guo introduced more than 70 policy directives aimed at invigorating the market by reducing administrative interference and giving nonbank financial institutions more tools and services they could offer to clients.
Guo’s working approach is highly purposeful and methodical. He will have a lot of room to play in the financial regulatory field,” said an official at the Shandong office of the CBRC. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).