CBIRC Says Chinese Lenders Cannot Unreasonably Refuse to Open Bank Accounts for Micro-Enterprises

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The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has called for commercial lenders to ensure they provide adequate access to bank account services for micro-enterprises in the country.

On 21 December CBIRC issued the “Notice on Optimisation of Bank Account Opening Services, and Resolving the Difficulties of the Masses Processing Cards, and the Difficulties of Micro-and-Small Enterprises Opening Accounts” (关于优化银行开户服务 切实解决群众“办卡难”和小微企业“开户难”).

CBIRC said that Chinese banks “cannot refuse to open accounts for micro-and-small enterprises solely on the grounds that they have few staff, the enterprise proprietor is not based locally, the company business address and personal address are identical, the company has not yet commenced operation, or there are inadequate bank deposits.”

The Notice further calls for commercial banks to “accelerate the provision of simple and easy account services to micro-and-small enterprises, and establish account functionality that matches the account risk grade and verification degree of customers based on enterprise needs.”