China

China's banking and securities associations have announced plans to cut fees for their members, as called for by the government, to help boost the flagging economy.

The Financial Action Task Force has marked the end of its fourth round of mutual evaluations with an announcement of its latest plenary session last week.

CBIRC has released guidance to help financial institutions improve AML/CFT controls, on the heels of recent news that PBOC is scrapping its approval process for corporate accounts.

The CSRC is seeking details about large trading losses at a hedge fund managed by GF Securities' Hong Kong unit. Citigroup faces up to $180mn in losses on a loan to the fund.

The central bank bills swap will allow banks to temporarily exchange perpetual bonds for central bank bills for one year, at a rate of 0.25 percent.

As part of a plan to develop the Greater Bay Area, the HKMA and PBOC are reportedly planning to work together on the introduction of cross-border mobile payments and other financial services.

Since last June, a crackdown on peer-to-peer lenders by China’s Ministry of Public Security, codenamed 'Fox Hunt', has yielded $1.5bn in seized assets and 62 arrests.

Many local government-run AMCs have not been focused on dealing with bad loans as intended due to a lack of clarity on their business scope.

ICBC has become the 5th bank to receive approval to set up a wealth management subsidiary, through which it can channel WMP funds into the stock market.

Following a record number of defaults in 2018, China’s state planning agency is launching an investigation into bonds issued by state owned-enterprises.