Banks get OK for insurance arms

China's big four State banks will be allowed to run their own insurance companies under a pilot program, an official from the country's banking regulator said.

"We have reached an agreement with the insurance regulator on allowing banks to set up their own insurance companies, and the big four banks will be the first to run it on a pilot basis," Lai Xiufu, an official from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said at the weekend.

At a press conference in February, Li Kemu, vice-chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, indicated that there would be at least one approved insurance company floated by a bank this year.