Feb.7 saw the curtain fell for the Conference of National Financial Work and the news revealed that China had officially given permission to the state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital with qualified conditions to be transformed into state-holding shareholding commercial banks. They are allowed to list in the stock market when conditions are ripe.
This is one of the key measures put forward by China for a comprehensive reformation of the state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital. The emphasis of the work taken at the conference was to be laid on the integrated reformation of the four state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital, namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.
As officially held the state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital are the lifelines for Chinese economy and economic safety of the country. So the conference has come to a decision that great determination has to be made on pushing ahead the reformation of these state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital.
The reform is aimed at turning, in line with the requirements for establishing a modernized enterprise, the state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital into modernized financial enterprises with improved management structure, healthy operational mechanism and explicit target in operation with good financial conditions enjoying a better competitiveness in the international financial market.
As required by the conference the present task of the state-owned commercial banks of monopoly capital is to advance greatly the reform of internal mechanism and strengthen internal management. Under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of assets efforts have to be made in increasing profits so as to support the development of economy.
The conference advocated that the credit and loan management must be strengthened in accordance with the international conventions and the system of "five gradations" for credits and loans of commercial banks must be practiced in an all-round way. A circumspect accounting system must be implemented with revelation of information to be put under strict control so as to reduce actually the proportion of bad assets. Management must be strengthened on financial accounting work and make healthier the mechanism for cutting down cost and raising the profit standard. The organizational structure of the commercial banks have to be optimized with all systematic rules and operational regulations to be carried out in a healthy way while the financial assets management company has to raise its efficiency in handling the bad assets.
As to the reform of credit cooperatives in the countryside the conference pointed out that the emphasis was to be put on the clear classification between the relations of property and rights and management responsibility so as to have the internal management and self-restriction strengthened. And the reform of rural credit cooperatives must be carried out in line with the policy of wherever it is suitable with guidance to be given according to different types and no malpractice as such ??once cut and for all?? is to be resorted to in carrying it out.
( February 9, 2002)
