PBOC to Focus on Anti-Money Laundering, Fintech, and Financial Opening in Second Half

A recent meeting of the Chinese central bank has outlined eight key points for its work efforts in the second half of 2019.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) convened a teleconference on its work plans in the second half of 2019 on the afternoon of 2 August, outlining a total of eight key work points:

1. Uphold the implementation of stable monetary policy, maintain moderate tightness and make prompt micro-adjustments in advance. PBOC will “flexibly use multiple monetary policy tools, when and to the extent appropriate make counter-cyclical adjustments, maintain rationally ample liquidity, and guide growth in the broad money supply and total social financing that matches the pace of growth in nominal GDP.”
2. Strengthen policy coordination, accelerate the clearing out of mechanisms for the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy, and further stimulate the vitality of micro-actors on the market. PBOC will “achieve an increase in the number of micro and small-enterprise loans, expand lending, appropriately reduce lending costs, and support expansion in the bond financing scale of high-quality private enterprises.”
3. Firmly prosecute the war for the prevention and dissolution of major financial risk. PBOC will “dispose of and dissolve various forms of risk and hidden hazard; firmly protect the bottom line against the onset of systemic financial risk, and to the greatest extent possible protect the lawful rights and interests of the general public.”
4. Play a leading role in further deepening financial sector supply side structural reforms. PBOC will “continue to deepen interest rate marketisation reforms, effectively expedite declines in the real financing costs of enterprises…improve the macro-prudential regulatory framework and assessment system, strengthen central and local financial regulatory coordination, and improve local financial regulatory systems and mechanisms.”
5. Expand financial opening…continue to loosen market entry thresholds, stably advance opening of the renminbi capital account, and drive expansion of cross-border usage of the renminbi.
6. Continually raise the level of financial services and regulatory work. PBOC flagged a focus on work in the areas of “comprehensive financial sector statistics, payment organisation regulation, information network security, issuance of new versions of the renminbi, national treasury supervision and management, credit services and personal credit information protection; anti-money laundering regulation and the protection the rights and interests of financial consumers.”
7. Circumstance-based guidance of the growth of fintech, strengthening of monitoring and research and actively welcoming new challenges. PBOC will “accelerate the pace of research and development of China’s statutory digital currency/ electronic payments; track and research domestic and overseas development trends for virtual currencies, and continue to strengthen rectification of online financial risk.”
8. Continue to strengthen the publicization and interpretation of central bank policy. PBOC will “promptly respond to public concerns, improve the multi-tier expert consultation system, and stabilise and guide market expectations.”