The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has issued new rules for the regulation of insurance group companies in China.
CBIRC issued the trial version of the “Insurance Group Company Supervisory and Administrative Measures” (保险集团公司监督管理办法) on 1 December, with the new regulations coming into effect on the same day.
The Measures are based on amendments to the “Insurance Group Company Administrative Measures (Trial)” (保险集团公司管理办法（试行）).
CBIRC said that the new Measures are for the purpose of “strengthening the supervision and administration of insurance group companies, effectively preventing the operational risk of insurance groups and expediting the healthy development of the insurance sector.”
Key provisions of the Measures include:
- The equity investments of insurance group companies should uphold the principle of insurance as their primary operations.
- Driving insurance groups to focus on insurance as their mainstay operations.
- Preventing the disorderly expansion of capital.
- Insurance group companies should reduce the complexity of their equity structures.
- Improving the corporate governance capability of insurance groups.
- Insurance groups should establish group-wide risk management systems, with an especial focus on risk in relation to insurance groups.
According to CBIRC the Measures are a “key move for driving the stable and healthy development of insurance group companies,” with the authority stating it will “strengthen regulatory vigour using the Measures as a systemic basis.”
