Chinese legislators could pass a banking supervision law as early as in the first half of next year to further cement the legal status of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) as the industry watchdog.

The drafting of the China Banking Regulation and Administration Law started in April, just days after the CBRC was created, sources said, and completed in mid-May.

The plan to set up a separate banking regulatory commission was approved in March at a plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC); and the CBRC officially started operating in late April after a decision by the NPC's standing committee to transfer bank regulatory functions from the central bank, despite a central bank law that says the People's Bank of China regulates banks.

Sources said the rapidity with which the first draft was made had prompted optimism that a third draft could be finished by the end of this year and the law could be passed by the standing committee of the NPC in the first half of next year.

The central bank law and the commercial bank law are reportedly being revised.

The CBRC has repeatedly said it was drafting regulatory laws and regulations but did not specifically name the law until last week, when it said in a press release that one of its major tasks for the remainder of the year was to "actively co-operate with related departments" in drafting the China Banking Regulation and Administration Law.

But the ongoing revisions of the central bank law and the commercial bank law could be a barrier in the finalization of the new law.

"There is still a whole lot of uncertainty in the revisions to the central bank law and the commercial bank law," said one source, who declined to be named. "Considering we need consistency among all the laws, we may have to wait (in deciding) on some key issues."

Under the CBRC's supervision are the four State-owned commercial banks, three policy banks, 11 joint-stock commercial banks, 111 city commercial banks, and some 36,000 credit co-operatives, leasing companies and trust firms. They controlled assets of 26.5 trillion yuan (US$3.2 trillion) at the end of 2002, or 85 per cent of China's financial assets.

The 35-clause draft lists 11 responsibilities for the CBRC, sources say, which include formulating supervisory rules and regulations for banking institutions; authorizing the establishment, changes, termination and business scope of banking institutions; as well as investigating and penalizing activities that violate relevant laws and regulations.

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