Heading towards good governance: A case study of the Chinese commercial banks

Abstract

Chinese banking industry has experienced significant improvements over the last few years. These developments not only reflect on the industrial structure as a whole, but also on the level of performance of individual banks. Examining the development of the Chinese banking industry; corporate governance, as a major concern, has simultaneously evolved. Given the rapid development of the financial system, and the lack of relevant laws and regulations, corporate governance of the Chinese banking industry still needs to be further enhanced; in particular, further improvements of corporate governance have been hindered by various existing problems in this area; for instance, the incomplete legal framework, inefficient enforcement structure and a weak corporate disclosure regime. This Chapter, taking Chinese commercial banks as the example, aims to examine the relevant issues of corporate governance. Firstly the Chinese banking industry is studied. Following that, the regulatory frameworks for commercial banks and the banking regulators are introduced. Thirdly, approaches adopted by the Chinese banking sector to enhance corporate governance are examined in detail. Finally, a conclusion is drawn based on the observation of this research.