Regulator asks banking, insurance sector to support flood-hit regions

The National Financial Regulatory Administration has issued a circular requiring more efforts from the banking and insurance system to strengthen financial services for people and companies in the flood-hit regions.

Banks and insurance companies should fully support flood relief and reconstruction works in the regions. They must help ensure that people's life and business operations will be impacted by the natural disaster as minimally as possible through providing financial services in need, the administration said.

Banks and insurance companies should strengthen credit support for small and micro enterprises, individual businesses and rural residents, for infrastructure repairs and upgrades in key areas such as transportation, communications, gas and electricity, agricultural water conservancy, and flood control and prevention, it urged.

They should well organize and mobilize emergency response to disasters, safeguard security of financial assets and important data, guarantee stable operation of basic financial services and key infrastructures, and contact clients proactively to provide efficient and targeted services, it said.

The regulator has also encouraged banks to develop special disaster relief credit products for market entities such as small and medium-sized enterprises, individual businesses, agricultural and breeding enterprises and farmers, and new agricultural business entities in the disaster-stricken areas.

Asking insurance institutions to actively participate in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, the regulator said it would support insurance institutions to actively meet market entities' capital needs in the flood-stricken regions for post-disaster reconstruction and production recovery.

The NFRA also said it would guide insurance institutions to provide long-term funding support for key projects of water conservancy, infrastructure, and public services among others through insurance asset management products and private equity investment funds.

The regulator also urged its branches in the disaster-hit regions to strengthen coordination with relevant authorities and enhance emergency response mechanisms to better facilitate flood and disaster prevention and post-disaster economic recovery.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn