Seeking to halt a recent increase in bank corruption, China published rules on Monday offering generous rewards to bank employees who expose corruption.
Bank managers will also be regularly rotated to different posts and monitored for involvement in pornography, gambling and drugs under the rules, which were issued by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Other steps announced included making senior managers "legally responsible" for major fraud cases; establishing a system of reporting on the stock investments of managers and top personnel; and establishing new checks on loan approvals.
"There's been a succession of major cases due to weaknesses in risk management and internal controls, and this had led to major capital losses from banks," a commission official told Xinhua, the official news agency, in a statement that appeared in the Chinese press on Monday. Xinhua did not identify the official.
The rules appear to be an effort to bolster confidence in China's state-owned banks after a string of scandals tarnished plans to issue stock. Late last year, the Bank of China disclosed that employees in one branch in Beijing alone had stolen 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million); last month, the China Construction Bank revealed that employees in northeastern China had embezzled 33 million yuan; and a few days ago, the Agricultural Bank of China said that 43 employees in Baotou, also in the northeast, were under investigation after the disappearance of 115 million yuan.
On Sunday, the Bank of China announced that an employee in the northeastern city of Dalian had been arrested after embezzling 50 million yuan to gamble on soccer matches. Last week, it was disclosed that Zhang Enzhao (張恩照), who resigned this month as president of the China Construction Bank, was being sued in a US court over allegations that he took bribes from an American contractor.
"The cases show the auditors are getting serious and going through the banks' books," said Stephen Green, a senior economist with Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai. "But you'd have to be a fool to believe that Chinese banks are already out of the woods."
The government is pressing banks to prepare for the arrival of international banks in 2007, when WTO rules require China to lift many restrictions on the entry of foreign banks.
Tang Shuangning (
Tang warned that the Agricultural Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China faced special difficulties as they prepared to issue equity. A successful revamping of Agricultural Bank depends on reform of China's troubled rural finance sector, and renewal at the Industrial and Commercial Bank depends on reforming state-owned businesses, he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS