China regulator asks insurers to examine product risks: Caixin

[SHANGHAI] The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has asked insurers to thoroughly assess business risks and strengthen their risk controls, the online financial magazine Caixin reported Wednesday, citing anonymous industry sources.

China's insurers have rapidly moved into risky investments in recent years, analysts say, prompting increased regulatory scrutiny in recent months.

Insurers were asked to examine risks in their product offerings, their use of funds, administration practices, repayment ability, debt burden and other areas, Caixin reported.

A CIRC representative declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

In June, the state-owned Shanghai Securities News reported that CIRC was investigating insurers' risk controls with respect to equity and real estate investments.

More recently, Reuters and other news sources reported that China's banking regulator was drafting rules to restrict equity investments sourced from wealth management funds at small banks, in a change that could spell trouble for small lenders heavily dependent on wealth management revenue.

REUTERS