The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said yesterday it would accelerate banking reform and do more to regulate the sector in the remainder of the year.

The commission said its priorities for the coming months include working with other ministries to revise central and commercial bank laws, and drafting a law on bank regulation.

The commission also said it plans to review the work of the four State-owned asset management companies which dispose of non-performing loans (NPLs) and would give them more "policy support."

Such support would be welcomed by asset management companies, which have called for more leeway to do their job, in response to criticism over the slow pace of NPL disposals.

In a major reform, the Chinese Government set up the four asset management companies in 2000 to take over 1.4 trillion yuan (US$168 billion) in NPLs from State-owned commercial banks.

The commission also vowed to pressure joint-stock commercial banks and city commercial banks to further reduce their NPL ratios and support efforts to boost their capital by wooing overseas investors and seeking public listings.

And the CBRC will help city commercial banks bring risk under control and meet regulatory requirements.

The commission also announced the creation of a preparatory committee for setting up its regional branches. The CBRC was founded in March to take over bank regulatory functions from the central bank.

The commission plans to set up provincial bureaux at 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as five key cities, including Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province and Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, it said.

City-level subordinates will be established in prefectures and prefecture-level cities, while offices will be set up in smaller cities and counties, the CBRC said.

(China Daily 07/10/2003 page5)