China Taiping tightens overseas posting management
On May 14, Caixin reported that China Taiping Insurance Group has begun a three-year phased rotation (2026–2028) of overseas-posted staff…
Former Shanghai Insurance Exchange chairman sentenced to 12 years for bribery
On April 30, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ren Chunsheng, former chairman of the Shanghai Insurance Exchange (SHIE), to 12 years in prison for accepting bribes…
PBoC flags expansion of macroprudential regulatory framework
Reading between the lines, the emphasis on external risks – “geopolitical conflicts” and “trade protectionism” – suggests regulators are bracing for more financial volatility spillovers from…
Regulators expand relending facility to include AI, semiconductors
The PBoC is reluctant to cut interest rates for fear of further eroding bank profits. Relending shifts the cost of lower rates to the PBoC and away from banks, while allowing authorities to…
Authorities to impose rate cap on interbank time deposits
Although the Self-Discipline Mechanism is responsible for managing deposit rates, we’re confident the PBoC was pushing for this. Regulators want to cut lending rates but won’t do it until…
Central bank signals greater exchange rate stability
The PBoC won’t stop the yuan from rising or falling over the next three months, but it will likely intervene to ensure its trajectory is…
Hong Kong to promote RMB-denominated commodity products
Hong Kong has been building out the financial plumbing for an offshore RMB ecosystem – via yuan bond issuance, derivatives, and trade financing tools. More RMB-denominated commodity products would…
Mortgage rate reform on the way?
Benchmarking mortgage rates against 10-year Chinese government bonds (CGBs) would better reflect the market price for credit. It would also result in…
Pakistan joins booming panda bond market
Beijing has spent the past year calling for a renewed push on RMB internationalization, with the 15th Five-Year Plan pledging to expand the yuan’s role in cross-border trade, investment, and…
Economy slows further as Iran war starts to bite
The Iran war is squeezing production on the supply side – disrupting feedstock and input availability for key manufacturing sectors – while simultaneously…
Banks’ net interest margins continued falling in Q1
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Households move savings away from banks
With fixed-term deposits no longer offering attractive rates, bond yields near record lows, and property prices still falling, households have few places to park their savings. This prompts the question…
Foreign financial institution approvals and specific opening developments (April 2026)
Daiwa Securities; BNP Paribas
Foreign investors permitted to trade government bond futures
Since mid-2025, Chinese and Hong Kong officials have talked about launching offshore Chinese government bond futures to bolster Hong Kong’s role as an offshore RMB hub. The QFI reform…
Financial Law draft raises concerns over regulatory overreach
The law is meant to give Beijing a high-level legal basis to intervene in financial risks, especially in newer, lightly regulated areas that do not fit neatly within existing rules. That requires language both…
Eight regulator agencies impose new rules on online marketing of financial products
Beijing is drawing clearer lines between licensed financial institutions and the platforms that market their products. The September…
Monetary policy outlook stable in Q2
With no interest rate cuts on the horizon, the short-term burden of supporting growth will continue to fall on fiscal policy, meaning…
Banks’ NIM pessimism makes 2026 rate cut unlikely
NIMs will need to rise before the PBoC cuts. Going by the bank executives’ outlook, that looks…
ChiNext opens up to IPOs from unprofitable startups
Beijing is creating the exit routes that venture capitalists need to back companies in the early, loss-making stages of their development. Without that exit route, the whole…
He Lifeng meets Canadian finance minister
Beijing and Ottawa are setting aside long-standing differences in favor of pragmatic engagement as they both work to…