Altogether 892 employees of China's banking sector were punished for violation of laws in the first three quarters of this year, a rise of 224 on a year-on-year basis, China's banking watchdog said Monday.

A total of 2,710 persons involved in irregularities were also dealt with in the same period, including 974 from the senior management level with the qualifications of 74 senior managers revoked, said Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The commission launched a nationwide crackdown on offenses involving the banking sector under the guidance of the central bank since February this year.

Liu said 894 cases involving banking institutions were discovered in the first three quarters. Among them, 613, or 68.6 percent were identified by the institutions themselves, which represents an increase of 179, or 7.2 percentage points, from a year earlier.

The number of major cases declined on a quarterly basis, he said, adding that the number of cases each involving 1 million yuan discovered in the third quarter was eight less than in the second quarter, and the losses retrieved was 450 million yuan more.

But he did not give the figure of the major cases.

According to him, 199 cases were found in state-owned commercial banks, policy banks and joint-stock commercial banks in the third quarter, which was 86 less than in the second quarter. The money involved in the cases amounted to 250 million yuan, a fall of 400 million yuan.

The commission has been cleaning up the sector to improve corporate governance and prepare it for full competition with overseas counterparts.

China has committed itself to fully open up its market to overseas banks by the end of 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2005)