The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) is tightening disclosure rules on lenders' wealth management products (WMPs) as it tries to track risky lending in the shadow banking sector and defuse financial risks.
The CBRC said in a notice on Monday that it will announce 46 new or revised rules this year, some of which will target risks related to shadow banking.
Authorities are trying to better regulate 30 trillion yuan ($4.35 trillion) of WMPs, much of which is off-balance sheet in the shadow banking sector. The WMPs have been used to channel deposits into risky investments, often via many layers of asset management arrangements to avoid lending and capital rules.
The CBRC will require that banks report the underlying assets and liabilities of their WMPs and all layers of investment arrangements each week. Previously, banks were required to submit less detailed information each month.
The new rules reflect regulators' desire to have a full picture of banks' activities and could slow the growth of WMPs.
In March, the new head of the CBRC, Guo Shuqing, vowed to strengthen supervision of the lending sector.
Separately, CBRC announced many rules that it aims to announce this year, many of which are related to risk management.
The new and revised rules cover a variety of financial institutions from trust firms to banks. Regulators will also scrutinize how banks handle debt-for-equity swaps and microfinance management, according to the statement.
Chinese leaders have pledged to shift the emphasis to addressing financial risks and asset bubbles.
