China: CBIRC rules for crisis resolution by insurers emphasise self-reliance
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jul 2021
Insurance companies, banks and other financial entities have been directed to draw up and submit to the CBIRC their first-ever recovery plans by the end of August next year so as to strengthen crisis awareness and the crisis response capabilities of financial institutions.
One principle on which the measures are based is self-reliance. Insurers and other financial institutions that find themselves in a crisis have to look to themselves for rescue from their plight by tapping their own assets or turn to their shareholders for assistance. They can also turn to market channels to raise funds, and the use of public funds to rescue troubled insurers or financial institutions would be strictly limited.
Since 2011, Chinese regulators have directed banks and trust companies to formulate such plans. However, these existing rules are relatively scattered and need to be refined and consolidated for practical application.
The needs include extending the scope of the rules to other categories of financial institutions such as insurers. Insurers with total assets of at least CNY200bn ($31bn) should prepare such plans, the CBIRC said in a statement on its website. A