Shanghai banking and insurance industries enhance compliance management

Shanghai's banking and insurance industries are striving to enhance their compliance management capabilities, in order to safeguard the rights and interests of financial consumers.

Compliance is the foundation, framework and cornerstone for building the Shanghai International Financial Center with Chinese characteristics, and it's the most important prerequisite for all financial work, said Wang Junshou, director of the Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, stated in his keynote speech at the Banking and Insurance Compliance Conference.

The annual conference was held with the aim to promote the coordinated development of business innovation, compliance construction and consumer protection.

"Even a small loophole can lead to a big storm. Any minor violation could trigger a major crisis or tsunami, and any small error could lead to significant risks."

Banking and insurance institutions must recognize and handle the relationship between compliance and consumer protection, innovation, and efficiency, Wang said.

"Compliance and consumer protection are interdependent, like a seesaw, where good compliance leads to a decrease in consumer complaints."

Also at the conference, Chen Qichang, president of the Shanghai Banking Association, and president of the Agricultural Bank of China Shanghai Branch, said that the association in 2023 will enhance industry research and think tank construction. It will establish a collaborative linkage mechanism for the Yangtze River Delta's regional banking associations, to promote financial support for high-quality integrated development of the Delta.

The association is also increasing their bailout efforts to help enterprises out of difficulties, and will call on member units to actively implement various government policies on benefiting enterprises, and further reduce fees to relieve difficulties in key industries.

As for the insurance industry, the Shanghai Insurance Association pledges to focus on improving the quality and efficiency of industry self-discipline and rights protection services by issuing multiple regulations, and is also continuously promoting the use of big data and intelligent technology to combat insurance fraud.

The insurance association is also launching a yearlong campaign on promoting consumer protection, to gradually improve the protection mechanism for financial consumers' rights and interests.