China's Central Bank Vows to Promote E-BankingA senior official of China's central bank said Saturday that the central bank is adopting active measures to support the development electronic banking.Chen Jing, director of the Department of Science and Technology of the People's Bank of China, said at the 5th China International E-commerce Summit that the central bank is organizing commercial banks to study issues concerning finance on the Internet and e- commerce. "The central bank has set up three special researching teams to study e-commerce, e-banking and the inter-link of e-banking of domestic commercial banks," he said, adding that related administrative procedures will be drafted by the teams. The central bank will also reinforce cooperation with both domestic and overseas high-tech and e-commerce service industries, in a bid to steadily promote China's e-commerce development and contribute to China's economic development. The central bank's aim is to encourage innovation and avoid producing restrictive policies or laws, so as to create a good environment for China's financial industry and sharpen the industry's overall competitive edge, he said. Over the past few years, on-line financial services have been developing fairly fast in China, he said. However, compared with developed countries, the development is still on a low level. With China's impending entry to the World Trade Organization and the gradual opening of the financial market to the outside world, China's commercial banks are being challenged with unprecedented pressure. "The only way out is to narrow the gap between China and developed countries as soon as possible," he said. He held that offering on-line banking service is a strategic choice that commercial banks must pursue. In the Internet era, banks will rely more and more on networks to lower their operating cost. He said that while giving active support to the development of e-banking, the central bank must also be prepared for new risks arising from new technologies, and carry out scientific and conscious supervision on e-banking services. In addition, he said, the traditional financial legal framework can no longer be suited to the new demand of e-banking services. To ensure the healthy development of e-banking services, it is necessary to formulate and revise financial laws and administrative procedures. |
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