Banks, insurers encouraged to boost fintech

New measures to boost the city’s financial technology and its efforts to become an international innovation center were announced by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission’s Shanghai bureau on Thursday.

The measures aim to lend support to Shanghai’s major projects, including the construction of the new Lingang area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the STAR Market board, the Yangtze River Delta regional integration program as well as the brand building of "Made in Shanghai,” the local regulator said.

To improve the mechanism for spurring innovation, the measures require, for the first time, that financial institutions should give priority to developing fintech.

The bureau encourages banks to incorporate support for the city’s efforts on becoming an international scientific innovation center in their development strategies.

Insurance companies are encouraged to strengthen the construction of specialized branches which boast strong insurance technology capabilities.

Lenders and underwriters are supposed to develop financial products that can meet the needs of technology trade enterprises and offer investment and financing services for firms across the whole industrial chain and innovation chain.

Relevant achievements will gradually be included in the assessment for banking and insurance institutions, the authority said.

The Shanghai bureau is also calling for more cooperation among banks, insurers, other government organizations and third-party service providers so as to create a better business climate for small and micro technology enterprises and enhance their risk management capabilities while expanding fintech businesses.