Regulatory Changes to China’s Banking, Insurance and Fund-Management Sectors

Jan 2, 2020CCBC Policy Reports

By Wilson Yu Wen

Executive Summary

Since mid-2018, China has pledged to introduce a series of regulatory changes in the hope of reducing market entry barriers in various financial sectors, including banking, insurance and fund management. Some of the most notable changes discussed in this report include:

Offering broader business opportunities:

Allowing foreign-invested banks (subsidiaries or offshore branches) to engage in government bond business, financial advisory services and cross-border wealth management.
Allowing foreign-invested banks to engage in the renminbi business without prior government approval.

Lifting foreign ownership restrictions:

Relaxing the foreign equity cap on life insurance companies from 50 to 51 percent, and removing the cap by 2020.
Relaxing the foreign equity cap on fund-management companies from 50 to 51 percent, and removing the cap by 2021.
Removing the 25% foreign equity cap on Chinese banks; foreign bankers are to be granted “national treatment” when engaging in portfolio investment or mergers and acquisitions with Chinese banks.

Removing business setup requirements:

Eliminating capital requirements for foreign insurance companies regarding branch setup.
Eliminating capital requirements for foreign banks regarding branch/legal-person-bank setup.

These measures will bring many benefits for Canadian banks and insurance companies, and will also benefit Canadian pension fund/mutual fund management companies and credit rating agencies.

Background

Although it is one of the world’s largest financial markets, China is known for having stringent regulatory restrictions and market entry barriers. The British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham) reported that in 2018, China had the world’s largest banking sector (in terms of assets held) and the world’s second-largest insurance sector.^[1] Despite this, the challenges of high capital requirements and restricted access to licences has meant foreign investment only accounted for a 1.3% share of China’s banking assets and a 7% share of China’s insurance market in 2017 and 2018. As a result, organizations like BritCham have consistently called for a comprehensive opening up of China’s banking and insurance sectors.^[2]

In November 2017, at the conclusion of the Sino-US Summit, the Chinese government announced its commitment to address the West’s concerns by dramatically reducing market entry barriers in financial sectors including banking, insurance, securities and fund management.^[3] China’s determination to open up its financial market was affirmed by the governor of the People’s Bank of China, ^{Note 1} Yi Gang, at the Boao Forum for Asia (博鳌亚洲论坛) conference in April 2018.^[4] Following this announcement, the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (“银保监会“, known as CBIRC) began introducing a series of opening-up policies, regulations and measures in mid-2018.^{Note 2} This report will examine four of the regulatory changes introduced by the People’s Bank of China and CBIRC, and will analyze how these changes could potentially affect Canadian business and investment.

What regulatory changes have been made?

“Measures to Further Open Up the Financial Sector (金融领域开放举措和时间表)” (April 10, 2018)

At the Boao Forum for Asia conference, Yi Gang released “Measures to Further Open Up the Financial Sector”, which has essentially become a roadmap for introducing a series of opening-up measures to the banking and insurance sectors by June 2018. These measures included removing the foreign equity cap on banks and financial management companies and “expanding the business scope of [foreign-invested] insurance brokerage companies to keep it consistent with that of [Chinese peers].”^[5] The roadmap also relaxed the foreign equity cap on securities and futures companies, fund management companies and life insurance companies from 50 to 51 percent as of June 2018, and stated that this cap would be completely removed by 2021.^[6]

The roadmap announced other opening-up measures that would be introduced by the end of 2018, including dramatically expanding the business scope of foreign-invested banks and removing the “representative office requirements” for foreign insurance companies.^[7] It is important to note, however, that China has yet to fulfil some of its promises outlined by the roadmap – most notably the relaxation of the foreign equity cap on fund-management companies.

“Measures on Facilitating the Further Opening-up of Banking and Insurance Sectors (银保监会加快落实银行业和保险业对外开放举措)” (April 27, 2018)

On April 27, 2018, CBIRC issued “Measures on Facilitating the Further Opening-up of Banking and Insurance Sectors” (“the Measures”). Included within the Measures were two official notices (Notice 16 and Notice 19) introducing immediate regulatory opportunities to both foreign banks and insurance companies. In principle, the Measures aim to reduce the market entry barriers in China’s banking and insurance sectors.^[8]

Notice 16 (“Notice on Matters relating to the further Relaxation of control over Foreign-invested Banks’ Market Access (关于进一步放宽外资银行市场准入相关事项的通知)”) introduced two immediate changes to the banking sector:

Foreign-invested banks – including foreign banks’ offshore branches, wholly foreign-invested banks and Chinese-foreign joint venture banks – are allowed to conduct agency business related to “insurance, acceptance and underwriting of [Chinese] government bonds.”^[9]As a result, prior approval is no longer needed for foreign engagement in the government bond business. Foreign-invested banks only need to report to the CBIRC within five days of starting their agency business.^[10]

If a foreign bank has multiple branches in China, as long as its administrative branch is permitted to conduct renminbi/derivative business, its other branches in China can also conduct renminbi/derivative business.^[11]

Notice 19 (“Notice on Expanding Business Scope of Foreign Invested Insurance Brokerage Companies （关于放开外资保险经纪公司经营范围的通知)”) brought immediate regulatory changes to the insurance sector. One notable change was the relaxation of the business scope limit for foreign-invested insurance brokers. Previously, unlike Chinese insurance brokers, foreign-invested brokers were limited to providing insurance brokerage services related to “large commercial banks, reinsurance, international marine, aviation, and transport insurance and related reinsurance.”^[12] Under Notice 19, they are now permitted to expand their business scope to cover the same brokerage services as their Chinese peers.^[13] In particular, foreign-invested brokers can now provide insurance brokerage services for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises.^[14]

Along with introducing immediate regulatory changes, the Measures also announced that additional opening-up measures would be introduced in the near future, including the promise to ease the foreign-ownership restriction and relax the foreign equity cap on life insurance companies from 50 to 51 percent. The Measures announced that this restriction would be fully removed by 2021.^[15]

Draft Amendment to Administrative Regulations on Foreign-invested Insurance Companies and the Implementation Rules (May 30, 2018)

On May 30, 2018, CBIRC released two drafts of amendments to the insurance-sector regulations. These drafts included the Draft Amendment to Administrative Regulations on Foreign-invested Insurance Companies (修改“外资保险公司管理条例”征求意见稿, known as “Amended Administrative Regulations”) and the Draft Amendment to Implementation Rules for the Administrative Regulations on Foreign-invested Insurance Companies (修改“外资保险公司管理条例实施细则”征求意见稿, known as “Amended Implementation Rules”).^[16] So far, the amendment process for both drafts has not been completed, and the CBIRC expects the Amended Implementation Rules to be finalized by 2019.^[17]

The Amended Administrative Regulations will remove the “resident representative” requirement, which required that foreign insurance companies operate resident representative offices in China for at least two years before setting up foreign-invested enterprises.^[18] In addition, Article 3 of the Amended Implementation Rules will relax the foreign equity cap on life insurance companies in China from 50 percent to 51 percent.^[19]

The Amended Implementation Rules further seek to equalize the branch setup requirements between foreign and domestic insurance companies. This will be done by removing the special capital requirement on foreign insurance companies when setting up branches. Foreign companies will no longer be required to increase their registered capital level before establishing new branches in a new province, self-autonomous area or direct-administered principality.^[20]

Draft Amendment to Administrative Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-funded Banks and the Implementation Rules (October & November, 2018)

Following the amendment of the insurance-sector regulations, the CBIRC made changes to the banking-sector regulations. On October 25, 2018, CBIRC released the Draft Amendment to Administrative Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-funded Banks (修改“外资银行管理条例”征求意见稿, known as “Amended Banking Administrative Regulations”). This was followed by the November 28, 2018, release of the Draft Amendment to Implementation Rules for the Administrative Regulations on Foreign-invested Banks (修改“外资银行管理条例实施细则”征求意见稿, known as “Amended Banking Implementation Rules”).^[21] Although the amendment of both regulations is not yet complete, the CBIRC expects the Amended Banking Implementation Rules to be finalized in 2019.^[22]

These regulatory changes are expected to provide greater freedom for foreign banks to establish and operate a business in China. Most notably, under the Banking Administrative Regulations, foreign banks will be allowed to have both foreign-invested legal-person banks – either wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries or Chinese-foreign joint ventures – and offshore branches operating in China at the same time.^[23] It is worth noting that on August 17, 2018, the CBIRC renounced the “Measures for the Administration of the Investment and Shareholding in Chinese-funded Financial Institutions by Foreign Financial Institutions” (“境外金融机构投资入股中资金融机构管理办法“), and thus no longer limited the foreign equity cap on Chinese banks to 25%.^[24] This easing of foreign ownership restrictions, combined with the allowance of the synchronized operation of foreign-invested legal-person banks and offshore companies, will provide greater freedom for foreign banks to operate in China.

In addition, the Amended Banking Implementation Rules will expand the scope of business services that foreign-invested banks can provide. Both foreign-invested legal-person banks and offshore branches will be able to conduct agency business related to insurance, acceptance and underwriting of government bonds, and will be able to engage in financial advisory and cross-border wealth management services.^[25]

“12 New Measures to Further Open Banking and Insurance Sectors (12条银行业保险业对外开放新措施)” (May 1, 2019)

On May 1, 2019, building on the previous efforts to open up China’s banking and insurance sectors, the CBIRC released “12 New Measures to Further Open Banking and Insurance Sectors” (known as “12 New Measures”). Compared to previous regulations and policies, the 12 New Measures represent an even more proactive step in the opening up of the Chinese financial market.

A total of six measures were to be introduced to China’s banking sector, and at least four of them are noteworthy:

The CBIRC reaffirmed that the foreign equity cap in Chinese commercial banks should be lifted in the future; in other words, foreign bankers are to be granted “national treatment” when engaging in portfolio investment or mergers and acquisitions with Chinese banks.^[26]
Foreign banks will no longer need to meet certain capital requirements ^{Note 3} before setting up foreign-invested legal-person banks/offshore branches in China.^[27]
The CBIRC planned to expand the scope of potential partners for foreign banks, removing the requirement that the main (or only) eligible Chinese shareholder in a joint-venture bank should be a financial institution.^[28]
The CBIRC pledged to remove the “prior approval” mechanism on the renminbi business of foreign-invested banks. This will allow foreign banks to engage in renminbi-related business immediately after starting their business operation in China. Previously, foreign-invested banks needed separate government approval for engaging in such business.^[29]

The CBIRC also pledged to introduce new measures for China’s insurance sector, with the goal of reducing the market entry barriers for foreign insurance companies. For example, the CBIRC promised that in the future, foreign insurance companies will only need to meet the credential requirements of their Chinese peers when setting up new business in China (although the CBIRC did not specify whether such business could be wholly owned subsidiaries, offshore branches or joint ventures). As further pledged by the CBIRC, when establishing insurance brokerage services in China, foreign insurance brokers will no longer need to have USD200 million in assets or to have been operating for at least 30 years.^[30]

Conclusion: How will these changes affect Canadian business?

China’s new regulatory changes aim to reduce the regulatory burdens and market entry barriers for foreign banks, insurance companies and fund-management companies by reducing business setup requirements, lifting foreign ownership restrictions and broadening the scope of services that foreign companies can provide in China. Although many of these regulatory changes – especially those promised by the amended regulations in the banking and insurance sectors – are not yet in place, their future implementation could prove promising for Canadian businesses.

China’s determination to open up its financial market has already led to a significant event in the insurance sector. On November 25, 2018, the CBIRC gave approval to Allianz – a German insurance giant whose business ranges from “property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance”^[31] – to create Allianz (China) Insurance Holding Company Limited in Shanghai. This is the first wholly foreign-owned insurance holding company (i.e., a parent company that can freely establish subsidiaries and corporate groups) in China.^[32]

Apart from foreign banks and insurance companies, there are also cases in which foreign credit rating agencies are entering the Chinese market, despite the fact that there are no concrete laws, regulations or policies introduced for these agencies. On January 28, 2019, Standard & Poor’s Global (S&P), an American credit rating giant,^[33] received approval to set up a wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in Beijing.^[34] For Canadian credit rating agencies like DBRS, S&P’s example indicates that entering China’s financial market is a possibility.

At the time of writing, China appears to be further accelerating the opening of its market to foreign financial companies. At the World Economic Forum on July 1, 2019, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that “Full foreign ownership of securities firms, futures businesses and life insurance companies will be allowed by 2020.”^[35] Previously, according to the “Measures to Further Open Up the Financial Sector (金融领域开放举措和时间表)”, China planned to wait until 2021 before enforcing the complete removal of the foreign equity cap on securities firms, future businesses and life insurance companies.^[36]

Nevertheless, Canadian companies still need to be aware of three serious concerns related to the opening up of the Chinese market. The primary concern, as expressed by organizations like the US-China Business Council (USCBC), is that for now, the opening remains limited in scale.^[37] The fact that China’s 2018 “Market Access Negative List” continually restricts foreign investment in the banking and insurance sectors is a clear indication of its limited scope. Under this list, foreign banks and insurance companies must seek prior government approval when making operational decisions – including those related to establishing subsidiaries/offshore branches, engaging in mergers and acquisitions, and when appointing senior management.^[38] For now, most foreign-invested insurance companies in China remain joint ventures. And even if China does live up to its promise and relaxes the foreign equity cap on life insurance companies, a cap will remain and continue to “burden foreign-invested [life] insurance companies.”^[39]

The second concern is the discriminatory treatment of foreign companies, which often takes place in the government’s administrative licensing process. This discrimination exists in the branch-approval process in the insurance sector. USCBC reports that while the CBIRC approves the creation of branches of domestic insurance companies in clusters, “mature foreign-invested insurance companies receive branch approvals one at a time.”^[40] Given that the CBIRC and its proposed regulations have failed to specify whether foreign banks and insurance companies will get “national treatment” in the administrative licensing processes,^[41] the discrimination against these foreign companies will likely continue.

The third concern is the ongoing “tit-for-tat” style diplomatic confrontation between Canada and China, an issue that raises uncertainties about the extent to which China will open its financial market to Canadian businesses. There has already been a precedent in which China imposed regulatory burdens on foreign businesses for its own political needs. In September 2018, the USCBC reported that, according to cabinet-level government officials in China, the Chinese government authorities are “putting off accepting license applications from American companies in financial services and other industries [which Beijing has promised to open to foreign investment] until Washington makes progress towards a [trade dispute] settlement.”^[42] Given the ongoing Canada-China diplomatic conflicts, it is difficult to know if Canadian businesses and investors will also encounter similar regulatory burdens when trying to enter China’s banking and insurance markets.

July 3, 2019

First-Hand Documents：

Notes:
^{Note 1}: The People’s Bank of China is China’s central bank, which is the top-level financial authority that supervises currency insurance, monetary policy formulation and macro-management of the financial institutions and markets in China.

^{Note 2}: CBIRC is the primary financial regulator and policy formulator for China’s banking and insurance sectors. It is responsible for approving the market entry of foreign banks and insurance companies, and it can also undertake enforcement measures against violation activities.

^{Note 3}: Previously, a foreign bank was required to have USD10 billion before setting up a legal-person bank in China, and was also required to have USD20 billion before setting up a branch in China.

References:

^[1] British Chamber of Commerce in China, Position Paper 2019, p. 81.
^[2] British Chamber of Commerce in China, Position Paper 2019, pp. 80–82.
^[3] Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China. 国新办就中美元首北京会晤经济成果相关情况举行吹风会, November 11, 2017.
^[4] Sohu News, 中国进一步开放金融市场（四）——解读《银保监会加快落实银行业和保险业对外开放举措》, May 30, 2018.
^[5] EY, Interpretation to the Measures for the Administration of Foreign-funded Securities Companies (Exposure Draft) , 2017, p. 5.
^[6] EY, Interpretation to the Measures for the Administration of Foreign-funded Securities Companies (Exposure Draft) , 2017, p. 5.
^[7] EY, Interpretation to the Measures for the Administration of Foreign-funded Securities Companies (Exposure Draft) , 2017, p. 5.
^[8] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[9] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[10] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[11] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[12] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[13] Norton Rose Fulbright, What’s on the horizon for the insurance industry in 2019?, March 2019.
^[14] EY, 安永“解读《银保监会加快落实银行业和保险业对外开放举措》, p. 4.
^[15] Norton Rose Fulbright, China Now – Regulatory Reform in the Financial Services Industry, May 2018.
^[16] www.nbd.com.cn, 保险业”狼”来了！最新管理办法对外资放低五大门槛，来看这些国民待遇, May 30, 2018.
^[17] Sohu News, 银保监会今年拟修订或制定31部规章
 ^[18] Guancha, 银保监会批准中国首家外资保险控股公司筹建, November 25, 2018
^[19] www.nbd.com.cn, 保险业”狼”来了！最新管理办法对外资放低五大门槛，来看这些国民待遇, May 30, 2018.
^[20] www.nbd.com.cn, 保险业”狼”来了！最新管理办法对外资放低五大门槛，来看这些国民待遇, May 30, 2018.
^[21] China Law Insight, 银行业对外开放逐步落到实处/, December 5, 2018.

^[22] Sohu News, 银保监会今年拟修订或制定31部规章, May 5, 2019.

^[23] China Law Insight, 银行业对外开放逐步落到实处/, December 5, 2018.
^[24] China Law Insight, 银行业对外开放逐步落到实处/, December 5, 2018.
^[25] China Law Insight, 银行业对外开放逐步落到实处/, December 5, 2018.
^[26] Wallstreetcn, https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3522242
^[27] Wallstreetcn, https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3522242
^[28] Wallstreetcn, https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3522242
^[29] Eastmoney.com, 全面解读！如何看待银行保险业12条对外开放新举措？, May 2, 2019
^[30] Wallstreetcn, https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3522242
^[31] Allianz, Allianz receives CBRIC approval for preparatory establishment of China’s first fully-owned foreign insurance holding company, Nov. 25, 2018.
^[32] Allianz, Allianz receives CBRIC approval for preparatory establishment of China’s first fully-owned foreign insurance holding company, Nov. 25, 2018.
^[33]Wikipedia, Credit rating.

^[34] EY, 中国金融业对外开放回顾分析及银行保险业的开放新步伐, 2019, p. 5.
^[35] Bloomberg, China Will Scrap Securities Firm Ownership Limits by 2020, Li Says, July1, 2019.
^[36] EY, Interpretation to the Measures for the Administration of Foreign-funded Securities Companies (Exposure Draft), p. 5.
^[37] China Business Review, Is China Really Opening Its Doors to Foreign Investment?, November 8, 2017.
^[38] Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China Department of Treaty and Law 2018 Market Access Negative List (2018年市场准入负面清单), pp. 32, 33 & 38
^[39] Comments on the Draft Revised Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies and the Draft Implementation Rules for the Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies, p. 3.
^[40] Comments on the Draft Revised Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies and the Draft Implementation Rules for the Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies, p. 4.
^[41] Comments on the Draft Revised Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies and the Draft Implementation Rules for the Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign-Invested Insurance Companies, p. 4.
^[42] Associated Press, China puts off licenses for US companies in tariff battle, September 11, 2018.