China’s Chief Insurance Regulator Investigated for Corruption

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Chen Junbo, the party secretary of China’s Insurance Regulatory Commission, has been placed under investigation by the Chinese authorities for serious breaches of duty.

According to the official website for the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), several problems in the insurance sector worsened during his tenure as the head of CIRC, including “increasingly pronounced problems with corporate administration and capital usage.”

It points in particular to the increasing “family control” of a number of black horse companies that used high cost, high price to expand insurance fees, as well as engaged in high risk equity investment.

60 year-old Chen Junbo holds a Master’s degree in law from Beijing University, and has held a succession of high-ranking posts in China’s State Auditing Administration, the People’s Bank of China, and the Agricultural Bank of China.

From August 2005 to June 2007 Chen was the head of the Shanghai headquarters of the PBC, and from June 2007 until 1 2009 he served as the head of ABC.

Following the establishment of the Agricultural Bank of China Share Company, Chen assumed the role of the company’s party secretary and chairman from January 2009 to October 2011.

In October 2011 was appointed to the position of party secretary and chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In addition to his over two decade career in the finance and regulatory sectors, Chen is a veteran of the Sino-Vietnamese War and has written a number of television scripts.

The Chinese insurance sector posted roaring growth during Chen tenure as head of CIRC, which saw the resolution of problems including lacklustre growth in life insurance fees and low ROI’s.

From 2010 to 2015 the sector’s total assets more than doubled, rising from 5 trillion yuan to 12 trillion yuan, while profits more than tripled with a surge from 8.37 billion yuan to 282.4 billion yuan.

During the period from 2013 – 2015 following the introduction of new policies governing investment in insurance, annual ROI for the sector was 5.04%, 6.3% and 7.5%.