China to form financial industry super regulator

Will coordinate monetary and financial supervisory policies.

The as yet unnamed group will also bolster regulation in the financial sector. China's State Council said the new body will coordinate monetary and financial supervisory policies and supervise legislation without changing the roles of the country's incumbent watchdogs.

The new group will also coordinate information sharing between the regulators and coordinate the collation and release of China's financial data. It will consist of the heads of the banking, securities, insurance and foreign-exchange regulatory bodies, with the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, being the lead unit.

The group’s members are PBOC, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan will act as the head of the group, while the CBRC, CSRC, CIRC and SAFE will be represented by Shang Fulin, Xiao Gang, Xiang Junbo and Yi Gang, respectively.

The group will meet on a regular basis but won't replace the authority of the cabinet or the existing industry watchdogs. It will report to the cabinet and will not function as a policy maker.

The new body is expected to reduce conflicts through better coordination of the different watchdogs despite its inability to frame policies.