The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) (中国银行保险监督管理委员会) is the Chinese central government’s financial regulatory agency for the banking and insurance sectors.
| Name | China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission/中国银行保险监督管理委员会 |
| Dates of existence | Established in March 2018 |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
| Superseding agency | State Council |
| Agency executive | Guo Shuqing |
| Staff numbers | – |
| Official website | http://www.cbrc.gov.cn |
CBIRC was created via the merger of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in early 2018.
The merger of CBRC and CIRC is considered the biggest reform of China’s financial regulatory system in over fifteen years, bringing an end to the “One Bank, Three Commissions” (一行三会) framework (referring to the People’s Bank of China, CBRC, CIRC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission), and marking the start of the “One Committee, One Bank, Two Commissions” (一委一行两会) framework (referring to the Financial Stability and Development Committee, PBOC, CBIRC and CSRC).
The State Council first announced the merger of CBRC and CIRC at China’s annual Two Sessions legislative meeting in March 2018.
On 9 April 2018 the newly established authority’s official sign was unveiled at the office complex that originally housed CBRC at 15 Jinrong St. in the Xicheng district of Beijing, and its official website was also launched.
Guo Shuqing (郭树清), the former chair of CBRC, is the inaugural and current chair of CBIRC, as well as the party secretary for the Chinese central bank (PBOC).
CBIRC’s vice-chairs are Wang Zhaoxing (王兆星), Chen Wenhui (陈文辉), Huang Hong (黄洪), Cao Yu ( 曹宇), Zhou Liang ( 周亮), Liang Tao (梁涛) and Zhu Shumin (祝树民).
The head of its disciplinary inspection organisation is Li Xinran (李欣然).
According to Xu Zhong (徐忠), the head of the People’s Bank of China’s research department, the merger of CBRC and CIRC into CBIRC is intended to improve the efficiency and coordination of Chinese financial regulation, as well as better deal with the increasingly “integrated” nature of China’s finance sector and the overlap between banking and insurance operations.
On the afternoon of 8 October just following the Golden Week holiday, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission publicly announced its new staff and organisation plans as well as the executive leadership teams for its various departments.
The “China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Professional Role Allocation, Internal Organisation and Staff Drafting Regulations” (中国银行保险监督管理委员会职能配置、内设机构和人员编制规定) was reportedly signed and delivered by CBIRC on 14 August, with implementation commencing on the same date.
Reports previously claimed that the Regulations would outline a total of 26 internal departments plus one agency party committee (referred to as the “26+1”) as well as 925 staff including one chairman, four vice chairman and 107 departmental secretaries, alongside one agency party vice-secretary, a chief risk control officer, a chief inspections officer, a chief lawyer and a chief accountant.
This would mean a reduction in the combined staff of CBRC and CIRC by over 10%, given that the former banking regulator was host to over 650 personnel and the former insurance regulator another 400 employees.