CBIRC Releases Debut List of Banks and Wealth Management Companies Permitted to Engage in Personal Pension Fund Operations

600

On 18 November, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) released its debut list of commercial banks and wealth management companies that are permitted to undertake personal pension fund operations.

According to state-owned media, the list encompasses all of the big six state-owned banks, as well as 12 joint-stock banks, five municipal commercial banks and 11 wealth management companies.

The “Notice on the Issuance of the Provisional Measures on Personal Pension Fund Management by Commercial Banks and Wealth Management Companies” (关于印发商业银行和理财公司个人养老金业务管理暂行办法的通知) stipulates that those banks permitted to engage in personal pension fund operations in China include:

  • Nationwide commercial banks and municipal commercial banks that possess the capability to provide cross-regional services, whose net tier-1 capital exceeded 100 billion yuan as of the end of the third quarter of 2022 and whose key prudential regulatory indices satisfy regulatory provisions.
  • Wealth management companies that as of the end of the third quarter of 2022 have already been included in trials for pension wealth management products.

“The personal pension fund system is in its early stages,” said a CBIRC official. “Its coverage area is large, operating requirements are high, and they relate to the close interests of the masses.

“We have implemented higher standards for commercial banks and wealth management companies with regards to operating management, customer service, risk management and social responsibility.”