After the re-election of President Xi Jinping, China's financial sector began a massive campaign of anti-corruption inspections. The Central Commission of the Communist Party of China for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has investigated the heads of major institutions in the investment banking industry, who are suspected of "serious violations of discipline and the law.
Chinese economists estimate that the financial sector is one of the most profitable in China. The total profits of China's six largest state-owned banks rose 6 percent year-on-year in 2022, amounting to 1.36 trillion yuan ($197.8 billion). However, due to its high reliance on the actions of property developers and local financial vehicles, China's monetary sector is subject to large risks that regulators are seeking to manage.
Several high-profile cases have been flaunted among the cases involving disciplinary inspections for suspected serious corruption offences. At the end of March, for example, the CCDI put former Bank of China chairman Liu Lianghe under investigation. Similarly, the top manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Kong Lin, who previously worked at the investment banking organisation China Renaissance, was accused. Institutions also expected to be subject to scrutiny include such institutions as China Investment Corp. - the country's major $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund, China Development Bank and China Everbright Group.
The Chinese government's disciplinary inspection is mainly aimed at deepening structural reforms in the financial sector and is designed to regulate all financial activities in the country. China's new leadership does see a serious problem in the corruption of the monetary sector, which is destroying the stability of the economy and turning the banking industry into an elite group.
Chinese economists estimate that the financial sector is one of the most profitable in China. The total profits of China's six largest state-owned banks rose 6 percent year-on-year in 2022, amounting to 1.36 trillion yuan ($197.8 billion). However, due to its high reliance on the actions of property developers and local financial vehicles, China's monetary sector is subject to large risks that regulators are seeking to manage.
Several high-profile cases have been flaunted among the cases involving disciplinary inspections for suspected serious corruption offences. At the end of March, for example, the CCDI put former Bank of China chairman Liu Lianghe under investigation. Similarly, the top manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Kong Lin, who previously worked at the investment banking organisation China Renaissance, was accused. Institutions also expected to be subject to scrutiny include such institutions as China Investment Corp. - the country's major $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund, China Development Bank and China Everbright Group.
The Chinese government's disciplinary inspection is mainly aimed at deepening structural reforms in the financial sector and is designed to regulate all financial activities in the country. China's new leadership does see a serious problem in the corruption of the monetary sector, which is destroying the stability of the economy and turning the banking industry into an elite group.