Measures for the Administration of Interbank Lending

Order No.3 [2007] of the People’s Bank of China

　　The Measures for the Administration of Interbank Lending, which were enacted by the People’s Bank of China according to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Commercial Banks and other laws and were adopted at the 13th President’s Executive Meeting on June 8, 2007, are hereby promulgated for effect as of August 6, 2007.

　　President: Zhou Xiaochuan

　　July 3, 2007

　　Chapter I General Provisions

　　Article 1 These Measures are enacted according to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Commercial Banks and other laws and administrative regulations for the purpose of further developing the currency market, regulating interbank lending transactions, preventing interbank lending risks and maintaining the legitimate rights and interests of all the parties involved in the interbank lending.

　　Article 2 These Measures shall be applicable to RMB interbank lending transactions between those financial institutions established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

　　Article 3 The expression “interbank lending” as mentioned in these Measures refers to the unsecured financing between those financial institutions which have entered the national interbank lending market （hereinafter referred to as “interbank lending market”） as approved by the People’s Bank of China （PBC） through national unified interbank lending networks. The national unified interbank lending networks include:

　　1. Electronic Trading System of the National Interbank Funding Center;

　　2. lending filing systems of PBC branches; and

　　3. other trading systems as recognized by the PBC.

　　Article 4 The PBC will supervise and administrate the interbank lending market according to law. The entry of financial institutions into the interbank lending market shall be subject to the approval of the PBC, and the interbank lending transactions of financial institutions shall be subject to the supervision and inspection of the PBC.

　　Article 5 The interbank lending transactions shall be governed by the principle of fairness, free will, integrity, self discipline and being at one’s own risks.

　　Chapter II Market Access Management

　　Article 6 The following financial institutions may apply to the PBC for entering the interbank lending market:

　　1. policy banks;

　　2. Chinese-funded commercial banks;

　　3. solely foreign-funded banks and Sino-foreign joint-stock banks;

　　4. urban credit cooperatives;

　　5. county-level rural credit cooperative unions;

　　6. corporate finance companies;

　　7. trust companies;

　　8. financial assets management companies;

　　9. financial leasing companies;

　　10. auto financing companies;

　　11. securities companies;

　　12. insurance companies;

　　13. insurance assets management companies;

　　14. first-class branches as authorized by Chinese-funded commercial banks （excluding urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks and rural cooperative banks）;

　　15. branches of foreign banks; and

　　16. other institutions as determined by the PBC.

　　Article 7 A financial institution which applies for entering the interbank lending market shall:

　　1. be established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China;

　　2. have a sound interbank lending management body, sound risk management bylaws and sound internal control bylaws;

　　3. have a staff special for interbank lending transactions;

　　4. have its main supervisory indicators consistent with the provisions as set down by the PBC and other competent regulatory organs;

　　5. have no record of punishment imposed by the PBC or any competent regulatory organ due to an illegal or irregular act for the past two years;

　　6. have no case of insolvency in the past two years; and

　　7. meet other requirements as set down by the PBC.

　　Article 8 To apply for entering the interbank lending market, any of the following financial institutions shall satisfy the following requirements in addition to those provided in Article 7 of these Measures:

　　1. A solely foreign-funded bank, Sino-foreign joint-stock bank or branch of a foreign bank shall have obtained the qualification for RMB business upon approval of the banking regulatory organ under the State Council;

　　2. A corporate finance company, trust company, financial assets management company, financial leasing company, auto financing company or insurance assets management company shall, before filing an application for entering the interbank lending market, have made a profit for two recent consecutive years;

　　3. A securities company shall, before filing an application for entering the interbank lending market, have made a profit for two recent consecutive years, and its net capital shall not be less than 200 million yuan for the same term; and

　　4. An insurance company shall, before filing an application for entering the interbank lending market, have the adequacy ratio of its repayment capacity at 120% or above consecutively for the past four quarters.

　　Article 9 In case a financial institution applies for entering the interbank lending market, it shall submit application materials to the PBC or its branch according to the procedures as set down by the PBC.

　　Article 10 The time limit for the PBC or its branches to examine the applications of financial institutions for entering the interbank lending market shall be governed by Articles 28 and 29 of the Measures of the People’s Bank of China for the Implementation of Administrative Licensing.

　　Article 11 When a financial institution that has entered the interbank lending market decides to withdraw from the interbank lending market, it shall give a report to the PBC or its branch at least 30 days in advance, and simultaneously explain the reasons for withdrawal from the interbank lending market, and submit a scheme for liquidation and disposal of creditor’s rights and debts.

　　To withdraw from the interbank lending market, a financial institution shall adopt effective measures to guarantee the smooth liquidation of creditor’s rights and debts, and formulate an advance scheme for effective risk disposal against any possible problem.

　　Article 12 After approving the entering of a financial institution into the interbank lending market or receiving a report of a financial institution on its withdrawal from the interbank lending market, the PBC or its branch shall make an announcement to the interbank lending market in an appropriate means. Before the PBC or its branch makes an official announcement, no institution may illegally release any relevant information to the market.

　　Article 13 The PBC or its branch shall, within two years after releasing an announcement on the withdrawal of a financial institution from the interbank lending market, not accept any application of that financial institution for entering the interbank lending market.

　　Chapter III Transactions and Settlement

　　Article 14 The interbank lending transactions shall be carried out inside the national unified interbank lending network.

　　A policy bank, corporate finance company, trust company, financial assets management company, financial leasing company, auto financing company, securities company, insurance company or insurance assets management company shall, in the name of a legal person, carry out the interbank lending through the Electronic Trading System of the National Interbank Funding Center.

　　Those financial institutions which carry out interbank lending transactions through the interbank lending filing systems of PBC branches shall go through relevant formalities according to the provisions as set down by their local PBC branches.

　　Article 15 The interbank lending transactions shall be carried out by way of inquiries, through independent negotiations, and transaction by transaction.

　　Article 16 The interbank offered rate shall be determined by both trading parties out of their own accord.

　　Article 17 When carrying out interbank lending transactions, financial institutions shall enter into a transaction contract for each transaction. A transaction contract shall be specific and explicit, and concretely stipulate the rights and obligations of both parties involved in the interbank lending. A contract shall include:

　　1. names, domiciles and names of legal representatives of both parties involved in the interbank lending;

　　2. the transaction date of interbank lending;

　　3. the transaction amount of interbank lending;

　　4. the term of the interbank lending transaction;

　　5. the interbank offered rate, rules for calculation of such rate and rules for payment of interests;

　　6. liabilities for breach of contract; and

　　7. other matters required to be included by the PBC.

　　Article 18 A transaction contract may be the transaction sheet formed by the Electronic Trading System of the National Interbank Funding Center, the contract, letter, data message or any other written form.

　　Article 19 Where the capital settlement for interbank lending involves different banks, it shall be carried out through the PBC Large-amount Real-time Payment System directly by the financial institutions themselves or by authorizing their account opening banks. Where the capital settlement for interbank lending can be carried out inside a same bank, it shall be carried out by way of capital transfer. No capital settlement for interbank lending may be carried out by cash.

　　Chapter IV Risk Control

　　Article 20 A financial institution shall incorporate the interbank lending risk management into its overall risk management framework, and shall, according to the features of inter-bank lending, formulate and improve the bylaws for interbank lending risk management, establish a specialized interbank lending risk management body, and formulate internal operating rules and control measures for interbank lending risk management.

　　Article 21 A financial institution shall properly preserve all the transaction records about its interbank lending as well as all the documents, accounts, original vouchers, statements, telephone recording and other materials about the said transaction records.

　　Article 22 A financial institution shall use the capital borrowed from interbank lending according to the purposes as provided in the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Commercial Banks.

　　Article 23 On the premise that the following provisions are followed, the interbank lending term shall be determined upon negotiations of both trading parties:

　　1. The longest term of interbank lending for a policy bank, Chinese-funded commercial bank, a first-class branch of a Chinese-funded commercial bank, a Sino-foreign joint-stock bank, a branch of a foreign bank, urban credit cooperative, or a county-level rural credit cooperative union can be one year;

　　2. The longest term of interbank lending for a financial assets management company, financial leasing company, auto financing company, or insurance company can be three months;

　　3. The longest term of interbank lending for a corporate finance company, trust company, securities company or insurance assets management company can be seven days; and

　　4. The longest term of interbank lending for a financial institution shall not exceed the longest term of interbank borrowing for the other party as provided by the PBC.

　　The PBC may adjust the longest term of interbank lending for financial institutions on the basis of market development and management requirements.

　　Article 24 No interbank lending may be extended upon expiration.

　　Article 25 The quota management will be implemented for the interbank lending of financial institutions, and the interbank lending quota shall be verified by the PBC and its branches according to the following principles:

　　1. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a policy bank shall not exceed 8% of the balance of its financial bonds to be repaid at the end of the previous year;

　　2. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a Chinese-funded commercial bank, urban credit cooperative or a county-level rural credit cooperative union shall not exceed 8% of the balance of all kinds of deposits in it;

　　3. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a solely foreign-funded bank or Sino-foreign joint-stock bank shall not be more than two times of its paid-in capital;

　　4. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for the branch of a foreign bank shall not be more than two times of its RMB operating amount;

　　5. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a corporate finance company, financial assets management company, financial leasing company, auto financial company or insurance company shall not be more than 100% of its paid-in capital;

　　6. The maximum amounts of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a trust company or insurance assets management company shall not be more than 20% of its net assets;

　　7. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a securities company shall not be more than 80% of its net assets; and

　　8. The maximum amount of interbank borrowing or interbank lending for a first-class branch as authorized by a Chinese-funded commercial bank （excluding urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks and rural cooperative banks） shall be determined upon authorization of its headquarters, and be incorporated into the corresponding amount of its headquarters for unified assessment.

　　The PBC may adjust the interbank lending quotas of financial institutions on the basis of market development and management requirements.

　　Article 26 To apply for adjusting the interbank lending quota, a financial institution shall submit application materials to the PBC or its branch by referring to the procedures for applying for entering the interbank lending market.

　　Article 27 The PBC may temporarily adjust the interbank lending quota upon the strength of an application filed by a financial institution.

　　A PBC branch may temporarily adjust interbank lending quotas of financial institutions within its jurisdiction within the scope as authorized by the PBC.

　　Chapter V Information Disclosure Management

　　Article 28 A financial institution that has entered the interbank lending market shall assume the information disclosure obligation to the interbank lending market. The director or legal representative of that financial institution shall ensure the authenticity, accuracy, integrity and timeliness of the information disclosed.

　　Article 29 The PBC shall enact the rules for information disclosure by various kinds of financial institutions in the interbank lending market, and supervise the implementation of such rules.

　　Article 30 The National Interbank Funding Center is an intermediary service institution for the interbank lending market, and for providing services for the transactions of financial institutions and their information disclosure in the interbank lending market.

　　The National Interbank Funding Center shall formulate the operational rules for transactions and information disclosure in the interbank lending market, and implement such rules after reporting them to the PBC for approval.

　　Article 31 The National Interbank Funding Center shall timely publish the interest rate, transaction volume, significant abnormal transactions and other market information and statistical data to the market.

　　Article 32 The National Interbank Funding Center shall be responsible for daily monitoring and market statistics of the interbank lending market, regularly report statistical data about the interbank lending market to the PBC, provide the statistical information about filing systems to the PBC branches at the provincial level, and timely report any abnormal situation in the interbank lending market to the PBC, and notify it to the relevant PBC branch at the provincial level.

　　Article 33 In case a financial institution fails to disclose information to the interbank lending market according to the provisions of the PBC, or discloses the information including any false recording, misleading statement or major omission, the PBC may take such restraint measures as ordering it to supplement the disclosure of information within a time limit, reducing its interbank lending quota upon verification, shortening its longest interbank lending term, restricting its scope of interbank lending, suspending or stopping its networking with the National Interbank Funding Center, etc……

　　Chapter VI Supervision and Administration

　　Article 34 The PBC will implement both off-site supervision and on-site inspection of the interbank lending, guide and supervise the guild self-discipline organizations in the interbank lending market.

　　Article 35 The PBC branches at the provincial level shall be responsible for drafting the measures for implementing the interbank lending filing administration for its own jurisdiction, and supervise interbank lending transactions through the lending filing system by the financial institutions within its jurisdiction.

　　Article 36 The PBC or its branches at the provincial level may, as required for performing the supervisory duties for the interbank lending market, adopt the following measures for the on-site interbank lending inspection:

　　1. getting in financial institutions for inspection;

　　2. inquiring of the staff members of financing institutions and requiring them to make explanations about the matters under inspection;

　　3. consulting and photocopying the documents and materials of financial institutions about the matters under inspection, and sealing up those documents and materials that may be transferred, destroyed, hidden or altered; and

　　4. inspecting the systems of financial institutions for the management of business data by using computers.

　　Article 37 Where a PBC sub-branch of a prefecture or city finds any abnormal interbank lending and deems it necessary to implement an on-site interbank lending inspection, it shall carry out such an inspection after reporting it to the competent PBC branch at the provincial level for approval.

　　Article 38 The PBC, its sub-branches of prefectures or cities or its branches at a higher level shall, when implementing on-site interbank inspections, abide by the provisions of the PBC on supervision and inspection procedures.

　　Article 39 The PBC, its sub-branches of prefectures or cities or its branches at a higher level may, as required for performing the supervisory duties over the interbank lending market, talk with directors and senior managers of financial institutions, and require them to make explanations about major matters for implementing the provisions on the administration of the interbank lending market.

　　Article 40 The PBC, its sub-branches of prefectures or cities or its branches at a higher level shall, for implementing on-site interbank lending inspections of financial institutions, report the inspection conditions to the relevant regulatory organ when necessary.

　　Chapter VII Legal Liabilities

　　Article 41 In case a financial institution commits any of the following acts, it shall be punished by the PBC, it sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level:

　　1. engaging in the interbank lending business without a relevant qualification;

　　2. carrying out the interbank lending with any institution without a qualification for interbank lending business;

　　3. engaging in the interbank lending business outside the national unified interbank lending network;

　　4. using the borrowed capital for any purpose against relevant laws or regulations;

　　5. engaging in the interbank lending business by exceeding the longest lending term as determined by the PBC;

　　6. having the balance of interbank lending exceeding the quota as verified by the PBC;

　　7. failing to disclose the information to the interbank lending market according to the provisions as set down by the PBC; or

　　8. any other act against the provisions on the interbank lending market.

　　Article 42 In case a commercial bank is under any of the circumstances as provided in Article 41 of these Measures, it shall be punished by the PBC, it sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level according to Article 76 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Commercial Banks.

　　Article 43 In case a policy bank, credit cooperative, corporate financial company, trust company or financial leasing company is under any of the circumstances as provided in Article 41 of these Measures, it shall be punished by the PBC, its sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level according to Article 17 of the Measures for the Punishment of Illegal Financial Acts.

　　Article 44 In case a securities company, insurance company, insurance assets management company, financial assets management company or auto financial company is under any of the circumstances as provided in Article 41 of these Measures, it shall be punished by the PBC, its sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level according to Article 46 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China.

　　Article 45 Any director, senior manager or other person of a financial institution, who should be directly responsible for an act as mentioned in Article 41 of these Measures, shall be punished according to Article 46 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China.

　　Article 46 In case the National Interbank Funding Center commits any of the following acts, it shall be punished by the PBC according to Article 46 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China:

　　1. It fails to timely release market information according to legal provisions, releases false information or reveals non-public information;

　　2. Any serious safety accident occurs to its trading system or information system, and thus produces major influences to the market;

　　3. Its failure to perform duties produces serious losses to market participants or produces major influences to the market;

　　4. It provides convenience to any other financial institution for illegal interbank lending transactions;

　　5. It fails to submit statistical data according to legal provisions or fails to report the abnormal situation of the interbank lending market; or

　　6. Any other act against the provisions on the interbank lending market.

　　Any senior manager or other person who should be directly responsible for any act mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be punished according to Article 46 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China.

　　Article 47 In case any certified public accountant, lawyer, credit rating institution, any other professional institution or person, who （which） discloses the information and provides professional services to the interbank lending market, issues any document including any false recording, misleading statement or major omission, he or it shall not provide professional services to the interbank lending market any more; and shall assume corresponding legal liabilities if he or it violates any relevant legal provisions.

　　Article 48 After the PBC, its sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level imposes a punishment on a financial institution which violates these Measures, it shall circulate a notice to the relevant regulatory organ. In case any PBC sub-branch of a county or city finds that any financial institution violates these Measures, it shall report the violation to the branch at the next higher level, which shall punish that financial institution according to these Measures.

　　Article 49 When the PBC, its sub-branch of a prefecture or city or its branch at a higher level imposes administrative sanctions on financial institutions that violate these Measures, it shall abide by the Provisions on the Procedures for Administrative Sanctions of the People’s Bank of China.

　　Article 50 The PBC and its branches shall be subject to supervision for their supervision and administration, and assume the relevant legal liabilities.

　　Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

　　Article 51 The expression of “PBC branches at the provincial level” as mentioned in these Measures includes all the branches, business management departments, central sub-branches in provincial capitals and central sub-branches in deputy-provincial cities of the PBC.

　　Article 52 The engagement in foreign exchange interbank lending by financial institutions shall be separately formulated by the PBC.

　　Article 53 The power to interpret these Measures shall remain with the PBC, and be implemented upon organization of Shanghai Headquarters of the PBC.

　　Article 54 These Measures shall come into force as of August 6, 2007. The Trial Measures for the Administration of Interbank Lending promulgated by the PBC on March 8, 1990 shall be simultaneously repealed. In case any other provision on interbank lending conflicts with these Measures, the latter shall prevail.