Measures for the Administration of Licenses for Banking and Insurance Institutions
(State Financial Supervision and Administration Order No. 2 of 2026 promulgated on January 27, 2026 shall come into effect on June 1, 2026)
Article 1 In order to implement the principle of financial franchising, strengthen the license management of banking and insurance institutions, and promote the operation of banking and insurance institutions with licenses in accordance with the law, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the "Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China", the Banking Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China, the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China, the Decision of the State Council on Implementing the Access Management of Financial Holding Companies, and other relevant regulations.
Article 2 The term “license” as mentioned in these Measures refers to the legal document issued by the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration (hereinafter referred to as the State Administration of Financial Supervision) in accordance with the law for chartered banking and insurance institutions to operate financial services.
The issuance, renewal and collection of licenses shall be exercised by the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its authorized dispatched offices in accordance with the law. No other unit or individual may exercise the above powers.
Article 3 Banking and insurance institutions as mentioned in these Measures include financial holding companies, policy banks, national commercial banks, city commercial banks, private banks, direct banks, foreign-funded banks, rural small and medium-sized banks and other banking institutions and their branches, insurance group (holding) companies, personal insurance companies, property insurance companies, reinsurance companies, insurance asset management companies, policy insurance companies, mutual insurance organizations and other insurance institutions, and Its branches include financial asset management companies, enterprise group finance companies, financial leasing companies, automobile finance companies, currency brokerage companies, consumer finance companies, trust companies, wealth management companies, financial asset investment companies, and other non-bank financial institutions and their branches established with the approval of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies, as well as insurance intermediaries such as professional insurance agencies, insurance brokers, and part-time insurance agencies.
The above-mentioned banking and insurance institutions must obtain a license and a business license issued by the market supervision and administration department in accordance with the law to carry out financial business. Without obtaining a license and business license, no financial business operated by a chartered banking and insurance institution may be carried out.
Article 4 Financial licenses apply to financial holding companies, policy banks, national commercial banks, urban commercial banks, private banks, direct banks, foreign banks, rural small and medium-sized banks and other banking institutions and their branches, insurance group (holding) companies, personal insurance companies, property insurance companies, reinsurance companies, insurance asset management companies, policy insurance companies , mutual insurance organizations and other insurance institutions and their branches, financial asset management companies, enterprise group finance companies, financial leasing companies, automobile finance companies, currency brokerage companies, consumer finance companies, trust companies, wealth management companies, financial asset investment companies and other non-bank financial institutions and their branches established with the approval of the General Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies.
Insurance intermediaries such as professional insurance agencies, insurance brokers, and part-time insurance agencies are eligible for insurance intermediary licenses.
Article 5 The State Administration of Financial Supervision shall implement hierarchical management of the licenses of banking and insurance institutions.
The State Administration of Financial Supervision is responsible for the issuance and management of licenses for banking and insurance institutions directly supervised by it. The offices dispatched by the State Administration of Financial Supervision are responsible for the issuance and management of licenses for banking and insurance institutions within their jurisdiction, according to authorization.
Article 6 The State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices shall issue, renew and collect licenses to banking and insurance institutions based on administrative licensing decisions or filing, reporting and other information.
Article 7 The license shall specify the following contents:
(1) Institutional code;
(2) Organization name;
(3) Business scope;
(4) Date of approval;
(5) Institutional residence;
(6) Date of issuance of license;
(7) Issuing authority;
(8) License serial number.
The institution code is determined in accordance with the relevant coding rules of the State Administration of Financial Supervision.
The date of approval of the financial license is the date of establishment approval of the institution. The approval date of the insurance intermediary license is the date of approval of the insurance intermediary business qualification. For institution establishment matters subject to filing or reporting management, the approval date is the date when the issuing authority receives complete filing or reporting materials.
Article 8 A banking and insurance institution established upon approval shall obtain a license from the State Administration of Financial Supervision or its dispatched office within 15 days from the date of receipt of the administrative licensing decision. For institution establishment matters subject to filing or reporting management, banking and insurance institutions shall obtain a license from the State Administration of Financial Supervision or its dispatched office within 15 days after completing the reporting or filing.
Article 9 When a banking and insurance institution obtains a license, it shall submit the following materials:
(1) Letter of introduction or power of attorney from a banking and insurance institution;
(2) The legal and valid identity certificate of the person receiving the license;
(3) Other materials required by the issuing authority.
Article 10 If the matters recorded in the license are changed, the banking and insurance institution shall return the original license to the licensing authority and obtain a new license.
If the changes in the matters mentioned in the preceding paragraph require permission from the licensing authority, the banking and insurance institution shall obtain a new license from the licensing authority within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the administrative licensing decision. If the changes mentioned in the preceding paragraph must be filed or reported to the license-issuing authority, the banking and insurance institution shall file or report in accordance with the regulations and obtain a new license from the license-issuing authority within fifteen days after the change. If the changes mentioned in the preceding paragraph do not require permission or filing or reporting, the banking and insurance institution shall obtain a new license from the licensing authority within fifteen days from the date of change.
Article 11 If a license is lost, the banking and insurance institution shall immediately report it to the licensing authority, issue a loss statement within seven days from the date of discovery, and obtain a new license.
The content of the report includes the name of the organization, the address of the organization, the date of approval, the serial number of the license, the code of the organization, the date of issuance, the parties involved, the time and place of the loss of control, the cause of the incident, the process, etc.
The method and content of issuing a loss declaration announcement are the same as those for new and replacement licenses.
If the license is lost, when the banking and insurance institution obtains a new license from the licensing authority, in addition to the materials specified in Article 9 of these Measures, the banking and insurance institution shall also submit a declaration of loss and a report on the results of the incident.
Article 12 If a license is damaged, the banking and insurance institution shall immediately report it to the licensing authority, return the original license and obtain a new license within seven days from the date of discovery.
The contents of the report refer to the Lost License Report.
Article 13 If the administrative license of a banking or insurance institution is withdrawn by supervision, canceled or canceled by supervision, the license is revoked, or the institution is dissolved, closed, revoked or declared bankrupt, the license shall be returned to the issuing authority within 15 days from the date of receipt of relevant documents and legal documents from the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices or the bankruptcy ruling from the people's court, and application shall be made to the market supervision and administration department for registration change or cancellation according to law.
If a banking and insurance institution is unable to return the license on time due to the need for liquidation work, it shall submit a delayed return application to the licensing authority five days before the expiration of the return period, explaining the reasons for the delayed return and clarifying the subsequent return arrangements and time limit. With the consent of the licensing authority, the banking and insurance institution may delay the return of the license.
If the certificate is not returned within the time limit without justifiable reasons, the issuing authority shall collect it in accordance with the law within five days after the expiration of the return period. If the license is refused to be surrendered or is unable to be surrendered, the license-issuing authority shall announce on the official website of the State Administration of Financial Supervision that the license is invalid. The content of the announcement shall include the reason for the cancellation, the name of the institution, the address of the institution, the institution code, the license serial number, etc.
Article 14 When a new license is obtained or renewed, the banking and insurance institution shall make an announcement within thirty days from the date of receipt. Banking and insurance institutions shall make announcements in one or more of the following ways:
(1) Announcement in publicly distributed newspapers and periodicals (including national mainstream financial media);
(2) Announcement on the official website or official WeChat public account of the banking and insurance institution;
(3) Other effective and convenient announcement methods.
The specific content of the announcement shall include: reason, institution name, institution address, institution code, approval date, license serial number, contact number, etc. The scope of knowledge of the announcement should at least match the geographical scope of the institution's business operations. Banking and insurance institutions should retain relevant announcement materials for future reference.
Article 15 Banking and insurance institutions shall properly keep the license and use it in accordance with the law, and shall not cut, alter, paste, etc.
No unit or individual may forge, alter, transfer, rent or lend a banking and insurance institution license.
Article 16 Banking and insurance institutions shall include licenses in the scope of internal control and compliance management, formulate management systems, and clarify the management procedures and work requirements for each link such as license custody, publicity, use, handover, and inspection.
Article 17 The headquarters and each branch of a banking and insurance institution shall set up license management positions to be responsible for the daily management of the institution's license and clarify license management responsibilities.
Article 18 Banking and insurance institutions shall publicize the original license at a conspicuous location in their business premises. The branch office of an insurance intermediary institution shall publicize a copy of the license stamped with the official seal of the legal person institution in a conspicuous position of the business premises.
Banking and insurance institutions shall, in accordance with the administrative licensing decision documents and the authorization documents of higher-level management units, publicize their business scope and main person in charge in a conspicuous position of the business premises in an appropriate manner. If the administrative licensing decision document or the authorization document of the superior management unit has clear requirements for the business area, the banking and insurance institution shall also publicize the business area. If business is conducted through an online platform, the above content shall be displayed in a clear and eye-catching manner on relevant network pages and functional modules.
If the content of the above-mentioned public announcement matters changes, the banking and insurance institution shall change the public announcement content within ten days from the date of change.
Article 19 In principle, banking and insurance institutions shall carry out license management verification at least once a year. The verification content includes but is not limited to the management of new licenses, renewals, damages, losses, returns, public announcements, and announcements. Problems discovered during the verification must be rectified in a timely manner. If there are major violations of laws and regulations or major hidden risks, they must be reported to the State Administration of Financial Supervision or its dispatched agency in a timely manner.
Article 20 Legal persons of banking and insurance institutions, branches of foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan banks, and branches of foreign reinsurance companies shall submit annual license management reports to the State Administration of Financial Supervision or its dispatched offices within two months after the end of each year. The content includes but is not limited to: basic situation of license management, staffing situation, license loss and damage, major problems discovered during verification, rectification and internal accountability, etc.
Article 21 The State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices shall strengthen the information management of banking and insurance institution licenses, establish and improve the license management information system, and disclose relevant information on licenses in accordance with the law.
Article 22 The State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies are responsible for supervising the license management of banking and insurance institutions, carrying out off-site supervision and on-site inspections in accordance with the law, and taking corresponding regulatory measures and imposing administrative penalties.
Article 23 If a bank or insurance institution forges, alters, transfers, rents or lends its license, it shall be handled by the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies in accordance with the Banking Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China, the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant provisions. If a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 24 If a banking and insurance institution violates these Measures and commits any of the following circumstances, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices shall order it to make corrections within a time limit and issue a warning or a notice of criticism; if it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan, and the person in charge and other directly responsible personnel of the institution shall be given a warning and fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan:
(1) Failure to obtain, renew or return a license as required;
(2) Failure to publicize and announce in accordance with regulations;
(3) Failure to report the lost or damaged license to the licensing authority as required;
(4) Failure to effectively implement license compliance management requirements as required.
Article 25 If a banking and insurance institution violates these Measures and commits any of the following circumstances, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices shall order it to make corrections, issue a warning or circulate a notice of criticism, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 100,000; the person directly in charge of the institution and other directly responsible personnel shall be given a warning and fined not more than RMB 10,000:
(1) Loss of license due to poor management;
(2) The license is damaged due to poor management.
Article 26 If a banking and insurance institution proactively discovers the above-mentioned violations of laws and regulations through verification and promptly corrects them without causing harmful consequences, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies may not impose penalties in accordance with the law; if measures are taken in a timely manner to eliminate or reduce the harmful consequences of violations of laws and regulations, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched agencies shall be given lighter or reduced penalties in accordance with the law.
Article 27 After obtaining or renewing a license, banking and insurance institutions shall register with the market supervision and administration department in accordance with regulations and obtain or renew a business license. If it is found that the matter is not handled in accordance with the regulations, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices will transfer it to the market supervision and administration department for handling.
Article 28 Banking and insurance institution licenses shall be uniformly printed and managed by the State Administration of Financial Supervision. The certificate must be stamped with the seal of the issuing authority before it is issued.
Article 29 The State Administration of Financial Supervision and its dispatched offices shall conduct specialized management of licenses in accordance with the principle of proper separation of administrative approval and license management. License custody, production, sealing and other functions should be separated from each other and restrict each other. At the same time, systems for license issuance, collection, destruction and registration should be established.
Canceled licenses, old licenses withdrawn, and licenses surrendered and revoked in accordance with the law that are generated during the license issuance and management process should be stamped with a "voided" seal, be specially filed as important documents, and be destroyed regularly.
Article 30 The State Administration of Financial Supervision shall formulate electronic license standards for banking and insurance institutions in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, national standards and national integrated online government service platform standards, and promote the electronicization of banking and insurance institution licenses.
The issuance, use and management of electronic certificates for banking and insurance institution licenses shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state and the State Administration of Financial Supervision.
Article 31 The relevant time limits stipulated in these Measures are calculated in working days.
Article 32 These Measures shall be interpreted by the State Administration of Financial Supervision and shall come into effect on June 1, 2026. Insurance licenses issued before the implementation of the measures will continue to be valid before June 1, 2028. Relevant institutions should apply to the licensing authority for a replacement financial license before this deadline and return the original insurance license. The "Measures for the Administration of Licenses for Banking and Insurance Institutions" (Order No. 3 of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2021) and the "Notice of the General Office of the State Financial Supervision and Administration on Strengthening the Management of Licenses for Banking and Insurance Institutions" (Jinban Hanhan [2023] No. 515) are abolished at the same time.
