China is set to merge its banking and insurance authorities into one regulatory body, in a bid to enhance scrutiny of the country's financial system, according to a document seen by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Some of the roles of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will also be transferred to the People's Bank of China, the document showed.
In addition, China proposed the establishment of a national markets supervision management bureau, Reuters reported March 13.
The proposed changes in the document, which is a list of proposed changes to ministries and the bureaucracy submitted for approval by the National People's Congress, are expected to be formally approved by the NPC on March 17, the news wire said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, was not mentioned in the proposed changes, but the South China Morning Post on Feb. 28 quoted a source as saying that the securities watchdog, along with the merged regulatory entity and the central bank, would report to the newly formed Financial Stability and Development Committee.
