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China's banking industry, regulated by the People's Bank of China (the central bank) and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, lent ¥7.95 trillion in Renminbi-denominated loans in 2010, up 19.9% from and 11.8 percentage points slower than a year earlier as the government tightened monetary policy to keep looming inflation and asset bubbles in check. Total loans made in 2010, including foreign currency-denominated loans, added up to ¥8.36 trillion equivalent, taking total outstanding loans to ¥50.92 billion by the end of 2010.
Deposits made in 2010 totaled ¥12.14 trillion equivalent, including ¥12.05 trillion Renminbi-denominated deposits, taking total deposit balance to ¥73.34 trillion by the end of 2010.
The industry's profit rose 34.5% to ¥899.1 billion. The top five state-owned banks' profit accounted for 60% of total earnings whereas the 151 city-level lenders' profit accounted for 8.5% of total earnings.
China's bankcard clearance system processed 25.76 billion transactions worth ¥246.8 trillion in 2010, up 30.8% and 48.7% respectively from the year before. China had 2.19 billion debit cards and 230 million credit cards in circulation by the end of 2010.
The value of interbank transactions rose 31.1% to ¥179.5 trillion in 2010, or ¥718 billion a day.
China's banks had ¥95.3 trillion in total assets and ¥364.6 billion in non-performing loans (NPL ratio 1.15%) by the end of 2010.
The top five mainland-listed banks by market value are
- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (SHA: 601398, HKG: 1398), based in Beijing
- China Construction Bank Corp (SHA: 601939, HKG: 0939), based in Beijing
- Bank of China Ltd (SHA: 601988, HKG: 3988), based in Shanghai
- Agricultural Bank of China Co (SHA: 601288, HKG: 1288), based in Beijing
- Bank of Communications Co (SHA: 601328, HKG: 3328), based in Shanghai
China's insurance industry, regulated by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, recorded ¥1.43 trillion in premium incomes in 2011, down 1.3% from the year before. Life insurance premium down 8.6% to ¥972.1 billion, and property insurance premium was up 18.5% to ¥461.8 billion.
In 2010, the industry compensated ¥313.7 billion in insurance claims, profited ¥60.7 billion, and had ¥5 trillion in total assets by the end of 2010.
In 2010, the top three insurers by life insurance premium were
- China Life Insurance posted ¥333.04 billion in life insurance premium, accounting for 31.72% of total life insurance premiums, down from 36.23% in 2009;
- Ping An Insurance posted ¥159.06 billion in life insurance, accounting for 15.15% of total life insurance premiums, down from 16.24% in 2009;
- NCI posted ¥93.64 billion in life insurance premium, accounting for 8.92% of total life insurance premiums, up from 8.2% in 2009.
In 2010, AIA continued to be the largest foreign insurer by premium income out of 28 foreign life insurers despite a 0.18-percentage-point decline in Chinese market share. It posted ¥8.47 billion in life insurance premium, accounting for 0.81% of total life insurance premiums, down from 0.99% in 2009.
In 2010, the top three insurers by property insurance premium were
- PICC posted ¥153.93 billion in property insurance premium, accounting for 38.23% of total property insurance premiums, down from 39.92% in 2009;
- Ping An Insurance posted ¥62.11 billion in property insurance, accounting for 15.43% of total property insurance premiums, up from 12.86% in 2009;
- CPIC posted ¥51.53 billion in property insurance premium, accounting for 12.8% of total property insurance premiums, up from 11.44% in 2009.
In 2010, Chartis continued to be the largest property insurer by property income out of 19 foreign property insurers despite a 0.017-percentage-point decline in Chinese market share. It posted ¥1.02 billion in property insurance premium, accounting for 0.25% of total property insurance premiums, down from 0.27% in 2009.
China's insurance industry is fledging compared to that in developed economies. For instance, very few people in rural China are insured; commercial medical insurance and dental insurance are even rarely seen in the largest Chinese cities. However, the nation's 1.4 billion people potentially back rapid growth of the insurance industry.
China has three mainland-listed insurers:
- China Life Insurance Co (NYSE: LFC, SHA: 601628, HKG: 2628), based in Beijing
- Ping An Insurance Group Co of China (SHA: 601318, HKG: 2318), based in Shenzhen, Guangdong
- CPIC (SHA: 601601, HKG: 2601), based in Shanghai
@2011 China Economy @ The China Perspective.
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