China to expand capital tools for banks to raise funds

BEIJING — China's financial regulators on March 12 issued a plan to expand capital tools for commercial banks to replenish their capital in order to boost their support for the real economy.

The country will improve rules to enable commercial banks to raise funds through multiple channels, including convertible bonds and other loss-absorbing debt instruments, according to the plan jointly issued by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and another four regulators.

The country will work on policies to allow institutions such as social security funds, insurance companies, brokerages, and fund companies to invest in the capital tools that commercial banks issued to replenish capital, according to the plan posted on CBRC website.

Financial regulators will also streamline the approval procedures for these capital raising tools.

This came as the country's financial regulators increased supervision to defuse risks, resulting in higher standards for capital.