China's State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration has revised and issued updated measures on the administration of banking and insurance institution licences, aiming to tighten and standardise licence management and address weaknesses in process handoffs, institutional accountability and penalties for licence-related breaches. The revisions also remove the separate insurance licence category and require insurance institutions to operate under financial licences. The updated framework requires banking and insurance institutions to bring licences within internal control and compliance management, establish dedicated licence management roles, and conduct regular licence verification. Administrative penalty standards are refined with differentiated treatment based on the nature and harm of violations, including added penalty provisions for responsible individuals, while also allowing for no penalty or mitigated penalties where institutions proactively eliminate or reduce harmful consequences. To reduce risks of unauthorised business activity, institutions that withdraw and return a licence must also complete change or cancellation registration with the market supervision and administration authorities, and the regulator can publicly declare a licence invalid where an institution has withdrawn but failed to return the licence and it cannot be recovered. From 1 June 2026, insurance institutions will apply for financial licences, with existing insurance licence holders required to renew to financial licences between 1 June 2026 and 31 May 2028 and return their original insurance licences. Where an insurance institution temporarily retains its original insurance licence under the renewal arrangements, it remains valid until 1 June 2028; the authority also set out how the public can verify insurance institution licence information during and after the transition, and noted that the renewal changes only the type of licence held, not the licence holder or the institution’s original code.
China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission 2026-02-06
China's State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration revises banking and insurance institution licence measures and replaces insurance licences with financial licences
China's State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration revised measures for banking and insurance licences to standardize management and address weaknesses, eliminating the separate insurance licence category for financial licences. From 1 June 2026, insurance institutions must apply for financial licences, with existing holders required to renew by 31 May 2028. The updated framework includes refined penalty standards and mandates for internal control and compliance.