People's Bank of China
Encyclopedia
The People's Bank of China (PBC or PBOC) is the central bank
of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China
. The People’s Bank of China has the most financial assets of any single public finance institution ever.
, Hebei
, and then moved to Beijing in 1949. Between 1949 and 1978 the PBC was the only bank in the People's Republic of China and was responsible for both central bank
ing and commercial bank
ing operations.
In the 1980s, as part of economic reform
, the commercial banking functions of the PBC were split off into four independent but state-owned banks and in 1983, the State Council promulgated that the PBC would function as the central bank of China. Mr. Chen Yuan
was instrumental in modernizing the bank in the early 1990's. Its central bank status was legally confirmed on March 18, 1995 by the 3rd Plenum of the 8th National People's Congress. In 1998, the PBC underwent a major restructuring. All provincial and local branches were abolished, and the PBC opened nine regional branches, whose boundaries did not correspond to local administrative boundaries. In 2003, the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress
approved an amendment law for strengthening the role of PBC in the making and implementation of monetary policy for safeguarding the overall financial stability and provision of financial services.
. The candidate for the governor of the PBC is nominated by the Premier of the State Council and approved by the National People's Congress
. When the National People's Congress is in adjournment, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
sanctions the candidacy for the governor of the PBC. The deputy governors of the PBC are appointed into or removed from office by the Premier of the State Council.
The PBC adopts a governor responsibility system under which the governor supervises the overall work of the PBC while the deputy governors provide assistance to the governor to fulfill his or her responsibility.
The current governor is Zhou Xiaochuan
. Other high-ranking deputies include Wang Hongzhang, Hu Xiaolian
, Liu Shiyu
, Ma Delun, Yi Gang
, Du Jinfu, Li Dongrong, Guo Qingping.
, Shenyang
, Shanghai, Nanjing
, Jinan
, Wuhan
, Guangzhou
, Chengdu
and Xi'an
, 2 operations offices in Beijing and Chongqing
, 303 municipal sub-branches and 1809 county-level sub-branches.
It has 6 overseas representative offices (PBC Representative Office for America, PBC Representative Office (London) for Europe, PBC Tokyo Representative Office, PBC Frankfurt Representative Office, PBC Representative Office for Africa, Liaison Office of the PBC in the Caribbean Development Bank).
The PBC consists of 18 functional departments (bureaus).
The following enterprises and institutions are directly under the PBC.
However, it no longer applies, since the central bank started increasing the rates by 0,25 percentage points at a time.
The most recent rate hike was on 6 July 2011, taking benchmark 1-year rates up by 25 basis points to 6.56% while depo rates were also hiked by 25 basis points to 3.5%.
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. The People’s Bank of China has the most financial assets of any single public finance institution ever.
History
The bank was established on December 1, 1948 based on the consolidation of the Huabei Bank, the Beihai Bank and the Xibei Farmer Bank. The headquarters was first located in ShijiazhuangShijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
, and then moved to Beijing in 1949. Between 1949 and 1978 the PBC was the only bank in the People's Republic of China and was responsible for both central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
ing and commercial bank
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
ing operations.
In the 1980s, as part of economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
, the commercial banking functions of the PBC were split off into four independent but state-owned banks and in 1983, the State Council promulgated that the PBC would function as the central bank of China. Mr. Chen Yuan
Chen Yuan
Chen Yuan , born in January 1945, is Governor of the China Development Bank.Chen Yuan graduated with a Master' s degree in Industrial Economics from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences...
was instrumental in modernizing the bank in the early 1990's. Its central bank status was legally confirmed on March 18, 1995 by the 3rd Plenum of the 8th National People's Congress. In 1998, the PBC underwent a major restructuring. All provincial and local branches were abolished, and the PBC opened nine regional branches, whose boundaries did not correspond to local administrative boundaries. In 2003, the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a committee of about 150 members of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China , which is convened between plenary sessions of the NPC. It has the constitutional authority to modify legislation within limits set by...
approved an amendment law for strengthening the role of PBC in the making and implementation of monetary policy for safeguarding the overall financial stability and provision of financial services.
Management
The top management of the PBC is composed of the governor and a certain number of deputy governors. The governor of the PBC is appointed into or removed from office by the President of the People's Republic of ChinaPresident of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
. The candidate for the governor of the PBC is nominated by the Premier of the State Council and approved by the National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
. When the National People's Congress is in adjournment, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a committee of about 150 members of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China , which is convened between plenary sessions of the NPC. It has the constitutional authority to modify legislation within limits set by...
sanctions the candidacy for the governor of the PBC. The deputy governors of the PBC are appointed into or removed from office by the Premier of the State Council.
The PBC adopts a governor responsibility system under which the governor supervises the overall work of the PBC while the deputy governors provide assistance to the governor to fulfill his or her responsibility.
The current governor is Zhou Xiaochuan
Zhou Xiaochuan
Zhou Xiaochuan is a Chinese economist, banker, reformist and bureaucrat. As governor of the People's Bank of China since December 2002, he has been in charge of the monetary policy of the People's Republic of China....
. Other high-ranking deputies include Wang Hongzhang, Hu Xiaolian
Hu Xiaolian
Hu Xiaolian is the Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China and the former director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China. Hu was ranked 23rd on The Wall Street Journals "The 50 Women to Watch 2007" list...
, Liu Shiyu
Liu Shiyu
Liu Shiyu is a Chinese banker. Mr. Liu graduated from Tsinghua University and received a master's degree in Management Engineering.-Career:*June 2006 Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China *July 2004 Assistant Governor of PBC...
, Ma Delun, Yi Gang
Yi Gang
Yi Gang is the Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China.-Biography:...
, Du Jinfu, Li Dongrong, Guo Qingping.
Structure
The PBC has established 9 regional branches respectively in TianjinTianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, Shanghai, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
and Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
, 2 operations offices in Beijing and Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, 303 municipal sub-branches and 1809 county-level sub-branches.
It has 6 overseas representative offices (PBC Representative Office for America, PBC Representative Office (London) for Europe, PBC Tokyo Representative Office, PBC Frankfurt Representative Office, PBC Representative Office for Africa, Liaison Office of the PBC in the Caribbean Development Bank).
The PBC consists of 18 functional departments (bureaus).
- General Administration Department
- Legal Affairs Department
- Monetary Policy Department
- Financial Market Department
- Financial Stability Bureau
- Financial Survey and Statistics Department
- Accounting and Treasury Department
- Payment System Department
- Technology Department
- Currency, Gold and Silver Bureau
- State Treasury Bureau
- International Department
- Internal Auditing Department
- Personnel Department
- Research Bureau
- Credit Information System Bureau
- Anti-Money Laundering Bureau (Security Bureau)
- Education Department of the CPC PBC Committee
The following enterprises and institutions are directly under the PBC.
- China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center
- PBC Graduate School
- China Financial Publishing House
- Financial News
- China National Clearing Center
- China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation
- China Gold Coin Incorporation
- China Financial Computerization Corporation
- China Foreign Exchange Trade System
List of Governors
- Nan Hanchen (南汉宸): October 1949 – October 1954
- Cao Juru (曹菊如): October 1954 – October 1964
- Hu Lijiao (胡立教): October 1964–1966
- Chen Xiyu (陈希愈): May 1973 – January 1978
- Li Baohua (李葆华): January 1978 – April 1982
- Lü Peijian (吕培俭): April 1982 – March 1985
- Chen Muhua (陈慕华): March 1985 – April 1988
- Li GuixianLi GuixianLi Guixian is a politician of the People's Republic of China, and a former governor of People's Bank of China.In 1985, Li became the secretary of CPC Liaoning Committee. In 1986, Li became the secretary of CPC Anhui Committee. From 1988 to 1993, Li served as the governor of the People's Bank of...
(李贵鲜): April 1988 – July 1993 - Zhu RongjiZhu RongjiZhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...
(朱镕基): July 1993 – June 1995 - Dai XianglongDai XianglongDai Xianglong is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He is the former governor of the People's Bank of China, and the former mayor of Tianjin...
(戴相龙): June 1995 – December 2002 - Zhou XiaochuanZhou XiaochuanZhou Xiaochuan is a Chinese economist, banker, reformist and bureaucrat. As governor of the People's Bank of China since December 2002, he has been in charge of the monetary policy of the People's Republic of China....
(周小川): December 2002 – present
Interest rates
Previously, interest rates set by the bank were always divisible by nine, instead of by 25 as in the rest of the world.However, it no longer applies, since the central bank started increasing the rates by 0,25 percentage points at a time.
The most recent rate hike was on 6 July 2011, taking benchmark 1-year rates up by 25 basis points to 6.56% while depo rates were also hiked by 25 basis points to 3.5%.
See also
- China Banknote Printing and Minting CorporationChina Banknote Printing and Minting CorporationChina Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation , is a state-owned corporation which carries out the minting of all renminbi coins and printing of renminbi banknotes for the People's Republic of China headquartered in Beijing....
- RenminbiRenminbiThe Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
- Bank of ChinaBank of ChinaBank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...
, state owned commercial bank - Hong Kong Monetary AuthorityHong Kong Monetary AuthorityThe Hong Kong Monetary Authority or HKMA is Hong Kong's central banking institution . It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 via the consolidation of "Office of the Exchange Fund" and the "Office of the Commissioner of Banking"...
- Monetary Authority of MacaoMonetary Authority of MacaoThe Monetary Authority of Macao is a regulatory institution established on December 20, 1999, upon the transfer of the sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to the People's Republic of China as the Macau Special Administrative Region .- History :...
- Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the central bank of the Republic of China