The provincial branch system has officially resumed, and the branches of the People's Bank of China held a listing ceremony for reform today. | Autonomous regions | municipalities directly under the central government | institutions | People's Bank of China | systems | People's Bank of China | branches

The reform of financial regulatory agencies has made new progress. Securities Times reporters have learned from multiple sources that on August 18th, the People's Bank of China held a listing ceremony in its branches in 31 provinces, restoring the provincial-level branch system and renaming the original city center branches within the province to city branches. At this point, the regional branches of the People's Bank of China, which have been in operation for more than 20 years, have become history, and the provincial branch system has once again returned.

The People's Bank of China originally had nine regional branches, namely Shanghai Branch, Tianjin Branch, Shenyang Branch, Nanjing Branch, Jinan Branch, Wuhan Branch, Guangzhou Branch, Chengdu Branch, and Xi'an Branch; There are two directly affiliated business management departments of the head office, located in Beijing and Chongqing respectively.

According to the State Council's institutional reform plan, the People's Bank of China will return to the provincial branch system from its current regional branches, abolish its regional branches and branch business management departments, head office directly affiliated business management departments, and provincial capital city center branches, and establish provincial-level branches in 31 provinces, as well as planned independent city branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Xiamen; The Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China retains the brand of the Business Management Department of the People's Bank of China, and the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China and the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China jointly operate.

As early as the 5th National Financial Work Conference in 2017, the functional positioning and retention of the nine regional branches of the People's Bank of China have been of concern to all parties. The restoration of provincial branches has been brewing for many years. Securities Times reporters learned that some business permissions of regional branches have been gradually restored to the level of central branches in provincial capital cities. Therefore, there are not many changes in the provincial business handover level for the listing of provincial branches.

The regional travel system has been in operation for more than 20 years. In 1997, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council held a national financial work conference, which reviewed and approved the "Notice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening Financial Reform, Rectifying Financial Order, and Preventing Financial Risks". The People's Bank of China reformed its own institutions, and the original provincial branches were abolished and replaced with nine regional branches.

It is reported that the reform at that time referred to the regional banking model of the Federal Reserve. The purpose of the reform was to enhance the independence of implementing monetary policy at the local level, reduce local government intervention in the formulation of monetary and credit policies and bank supervision by local branches of the People's Bank of China. The main responsibilities of regional branches are to implement monetary and credit policies within their jurisdiction, supervise and manage financial markets, and maintain regional financial stability in accordance with the authorization of the head office.

After operating the regional branches for a period of time, some shortcomings and drawbacks gradually become apparent with changes in the economic situation. A person from a branch of the People's Bank of China revealed to reporters that the cross provincial management radius of regional branches is too large, making it difficult for regional branches in charge of several provinces to accommodate economic differences in different regions. This can easily lead to monetary and credit policies being unable to accurately and effectively support differentiated situations in different regions.

The restoration of provincial branches this time also has the policy intention of strengthening the coordination and cooperation between local agencies of the central financial management department and local governments to jointly maintain local financial stability. According to the State Council's institutional reform plan, it is necessary to deepen the reform of the local financial regulatory system. Establish a local financial supervision system with the central financial management department's local dispatched agencies as the main body, and coordinate and optimize the establishment and staffing of the central financial management department's local dispatched agencies. The financial regulatory agencies established by local governments are responsible for regulatory responsibilities and will no longer be labeled with financial work bureaus or financial offices.

The changes and changes in institutional structure have distinct characteristics of the times. Wei Gejun, the President of the Xi'an Branch of the People's Bank of China, previously pointed out in an article that China's financial reform and development have always been based on the actual situation of the country. Whatever problems arise, they should be solved first, and the most urgent problems should be solved first, reflecting a very clear problem orientation. The economic and financial situation both domestically and internationally is constantly changing, and the development of financial innovation can also lead to inadequate regulation and risk loopholes. In the process of reform and development, it is inevitable to encounter various new situations and problems. Only by always adhering to the principle of problem orientation, timely calibrating reform ideas based on actual situations, and adjusting response strategies, can we ensure continuous progress and new victories in the financial industry.

The above sources revealed that there are not many changes in the business division of the provincial branch from the perspective of business division, and the focus and difficulty of the reform mainly lie in personnel arrangements. For example, the location of the regional branch will establish a branch business management department. With the restoration of the provincial branch, it remains to be determined how the functions and personnel of the business management department will effectively connect with the provincial branch.

Another person from a branch of the People's Bank of China analyzed to reporters that the branch business management department has different management models during the operation of regional branches, some working together with regional branches, while others are relatively independent institutions. Along with the unveiling of many provincial branches this time, the name of the business management department will be added. The business management department is no longer a separate entity and may undertake related businesses in the form of an organizational structure with internal departments within the provincial branch.

The listing of provincial branches is only one part of the current round of institutional reform of the People's Bank of China. According to the State Council's institutional reform plan, this round of reform of the People's Bank of China also involves the divestment of some regulatory functions at the head office level, the discontinuation of county branches at the local level, and the inclusion of financial management department staff into the unified and standardized management of national civil servants, as well as the implementation of various functions such as national civil servant salary and benefits standards, organizational structure, and personnel. The relevant "three fixed" plans are expected to be implemented before the end of the year.