China collects trove of 3 trillion financial records in bid for tighter control of country’s banks

Speech given on behalf of chairman of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Guo Shuqing, claims massive data haul can be used to improve regulation

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Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Photo: AP Photo

Published: 9:00pm, 9 May 2018Updated: 12:23am, 10 May 2018

China has amassed a dizzying collection of 3 trillion banking records in its drive to exert effective regulatory control over the nation’s financial institutions in the digital age.

The big data mountain – made up of bank accounting records, transaction data and related information – is a powerful illustration of how Beijing is using information technology as a key tool in pursuit of regulatory effectiveness.

The data trove was revealed on Wednesday in a speech delivered on behalf of Guo Shuqing, chairman of the country’s powerful new China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), at a forum on financial stability in Hong Kong.

Veteran technocrat Guo was appointed head of the new commission in March and is seen as a key enforcer of President Xi Jinping’s drive to steer China away from the threat of financial crisis posed by the pace of technological change and the global fintech revolution.

Speaking at the inaugural conference of the Alliance for Financial Stability with Information Technology (AFS-IT), Dr Fan Wenzhong, director general of the commission’s international division, said he had been entrusted by Guo to deliver a “tribute” to those involved in setting up the new Hong Kong and Macau-based alliance.

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Along with others from across Asia, the CBIRC is playing an active role in the new alliance.