Regulation: China turns tough on banks – but with subtlety

Something interesting is happening in Chinese bank regulation: it is getting a lot tougher. 

New research by UBS, led by analyst Jason Bedford, shows that the amount of bank fines issued under the new head of the regulator, Guo Shuqing at the China Bank and Insurance Regulatory Commission, last year showed a 14-fold increase over 2017, and in fact amount to almost six times the total of the previous 14 years put together.

Genuinely stinging penalties are being awarded for the first time in years.

Guangfa Bank, an unlisted institution whose major shareholder is China Life, was fined Rmb722 million ($107 million) last year, equivalent to 7.1%