The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory (CBIRC) has outlined plans to further standardise and adjust fees levied by the country’s lenders.
CBIRC issued the “Guidance Opinions on Standardizing Banking Service Market Fee Adjustment Regulation” (关于规范银行服务市场调节价管理的指导意见) on 25 November, for the solicitation of opinions from the public.
CBIRC said that the Guidance Opinions are for the purpose of “standardising the regulation of fee adjustments on the banking service markets and improving consumer experience,” with plans for official launch in the first quarter of 2022.
The Opinions contain provisions on the levying of fees by banks working in collaboration with China’s Internet platforms, including a ban on platforms charging any form of fee from clients in the name of their banking partners.
Banks are called upon to promptly terminate cooperation with any organisations that “collect services fees whose prices do not match their nature.”
The Opinions also call for banks to provide discounts or exemptions to key customer segments such as micro-enterprises, elderly people and the disabled when it comes to fees for account management, deposits, payments and remittances.
