ICBC eyes improved risk management

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will make further efforts to promote the resolution of existing risks and the management and control of risk sources, said its chairman Chen Siqing in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, which was published on Tuesday.

According to Chen, ICBC will implement the country's package plan on reducing debt to address local government debt risks. It will support local governments in reducing debt costs and mitigating debt repayment risks, and form a long-term mechanism for risk prevention and resolution through a variety of market-oriented methods.

At present, the local government debt risks that China needs to focus on are not the statutory debt risks of local governments, but mainly the risks from hidden and other operational debt of local government funding vehicles, said Feng Lin, senior analyst in the research and development department of Golden Credit Rating International Co Ltd.

Regarding real estate risks, ICBC will work on both the supply and demand ends to help shape a new model of real estate operation, Chen said.

Meanwhile, ICBC will also improve its risk prevention, early warning and disposal mechanisms to control the sources of risk and prevent new risks, Chen added.

Chen also mentioned that ICBC will promote China's high-quality financial development from five perspectives: science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance.

To be specific, ICBC will further link up and serve the market entities, the innovation chain and the innovation ecosystem to help cultivate more high-quality productive forces, and continue to enrich the supply of green financial products to better meet the needs of the economy and society for a green and low-carbon transition.

In addition, ICBC will strive to become a benchmark bank in the field of inclusive finance, strengthen the age-friendly transformation of its financial services and enrich the supply of senior care products. It will also deepen the close integration of technology, data and business, and widely integrate financial products and services into the digital economy.