The government has announced fresh measures to curb irregularities in the banking sector, this time ordering branch chiefs to resign if major criminal cases occur on their watch.

 

Banks have also been asked to set up an accountability system that allows bank executives and auditors to take responsibility for problems.

 

Meanwhile, top managers of branches involved in frequent irregularities and major criminal cases will not be allowed to take similar jobs at other branches in the future, while those breaking the law will be transferred to judicial departments swiftly.

 

These were some of the 11 measures issued by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) on Friday to fight corruption and fraud in banks, cooperative credit units, trust firms and asset management companies.

 

The move followed a release by the National Audit Office of China a week ago, which exposed 51 criminal cases in the Agricultural Bank of China that involved 8.68 billion yuan (US$1.09 billion) and 157 bank officials in an audit of the bank's 2004 liability accounts.

 

The bank was also discovered to have irregularly granted 27.6 billion yuan (US$3.45 billion) of loans during 2004.

 

Over the past few years, a number of high-ranking officials in other big State banks, including the newly-listed Bank of China and China Construction Bank, were also arrested for corruption and fraud.

 

The number of such cases is still frequent throughout the industry, a CBRC spokesman admitted.

 

Even though the watchdog made some progress in 2005, it still needs to take tougher action to consolidate results and prevent similar cases in the future, he said.

 

CBRC will also enhance cooperation with other departments, including the police and auditing office, to increase efficiency. And more attention will be paid to big commercial banks.

 

China's major banks are preparing for increased competition by listing on overseas or domestic markets, while an increasing number of smaller joint-stock banks are introducing foreign investors and going public.

 

"The banking sector is a crucial part of the national economy and it also reflects the major problems in the economy," said He Ziyun, a banking professor with the University of International Business and Economics.

 

Problems in the banks can be cured by efforts from other sectors as well as more surveillance from the public, auditors and intermediaries, he said.

 

However, combining discipline and stability during reform remains a challenge, he warned.

 

(China Daily July 4, 2006)