Laws of the People's Republic of China

China Banking Regulatory Commission

Decree of China Banking Regulatory Commission

No. 2

The Measures of Financial License Control was approved by the first chairmen meeting of China Banking Regulatory Commission on May 26, 2003, promulgated herein and shall enter into force as of July 1, 2003.

Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission Liu Mingkang

May 31, 2003

Measures of Financial License Control

Article 1

These measures are formulated in accordance with relevant provisions and laws such as the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China Governing Financial Institutions with Foreign Capital for the purpose of strengthening the admittance management of the financial institutions and pushing forward financial institution's legal operations.

Article 2

Financial License refers to the legal papers issued by China Banking Regulatory Commission (hereafter referred to as CBRC) to allow financial institutions to deal with financial operations.

The issuing, changing, detaining, withdrawing shall be conducted by CBRC according to relevant laws and provisions, any other units and individuals shall not exert any activities mentioned herein.

Article 3

Financial license only applies to those institutions whose financial operations have been approved and those under the supervision of CBRC.

Financial institutions herein refers policy banks, commercial banks, finance capital management corporations, Credit Cooperatives, Post services, trust funds investment companies, finance companies of corporation group, monetary leasing companies, financial institutions of foreign investment and so on.

Article 4

When considering the financial license, CBRC adheres to such management principals as delegating the right at different level, moderately separate the right for institution examination with right for issuing the license.

(I)

CBRC shall be responsible for the issuing and management of the financial license of those financial entity institutions under the direct supervision of CBRC (policy banks, state solely ?C owned commercial banks, joint ?C stock commercial banks, financial capital management corporation, trust fund investment companies, finance companies of corporation group, monetary leasing companies and so on); CBRC shall be responsible for the issuing and management of the financial license of foreign capital financial institutions as foreign banks and their branches, joint ?C venture banks and their branches, branches of foreign banks, foreign finance companies, and joint ?C venture finance companies and so on.

(II)

CBRC bureaus at the provincial ( autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government) level and bureaus directly under CBRC shall be responsible for the issuing and management of the financial license of the following financial institutions: 1, policy-related banks, state solely-owned commercial bank (including branches out side the territory) within the territory; 2, branches of financial capital management companies (offices); 3, city commercial bank entity institutions and their branches; 4, institutions below the level of foreign capital bank's branches (branches exclusive); 5, other financial institutions and their branches other than such financial institutions under direct supervision of CBRC as trust fund investment companies, finance companies of corporation group, monetary leasing companies; 6, city credit cooperatives, rural credit cooperatives (provincial level and county level), entity institutions for rural commercial banks ;7, outlets of the financial institutions in one area..

(III)

CBRC bureaus at county level shall be responsible for the issuing and management of other financial institutions rather than those mentioned herein.

Article 5

Financial institutions shall, within 60 days from the date of receiving a certificate of approval form CBRC, come to CBRC and its representative offices to obtain or change a financial license with the following documents:

(I)

a certificate of approval form CBRC or its representative offices;

(II)

financial institution's recommendation letter;

(III)

legal and effective identity certificate of the person who obtains the license;

(IV)

other documents required by CBRC and or its representative offices.

Article 6

CBRC or its representative offices shall, within 5 working days from the date of receiving the effective documents, issue the license.

Article 7

The financial license shall state clearly the following issues:

(I)

code of the institution (see the attachment)

(II)

name of the institution (rural credit cooperatives shall indicate their entity institutions or branch institutions by bracket )

(III)

law and regulations in accordance with;

(IV)

date for approving the establishment of the institution;

(V)

location for operation;

(VI)

date for issuing the license;

(VII)

seal of the CBRC or its representative offices.

Article 8

In any of the following circumstances, financial institutions shall submit the CBRC or its representative offices application for changing financial license:

(I)

change of the name of the institution;

(II)

change of the operation location (limited to change of the liquidation code);

(III)

dilapidation of the license;

(IV)

loss of the license;

(V)

circumstances where CBRC or its representative offices require the change of the license.

The applicant shall hand over the license in case of change of institution's name or change of the operation location to CBRC or its representative offices and apply for a new license with the documents as indicated in Article 5 of these measures.

In case of dilapidation, the applicant shall hand over the license when applying for a new license.

In case of loss, financial institutions shall declare the invalidation of the lost license in newspaper designated by CBRC or its representative offices, and apply for new license.

Article 9

In principal, the license code for financial institutions shall be the same unless in such circumstances as change of the name of the institution, change of the operation location (limited to liquidation code), or withdrawal of the license.

In the case of loss or dilapidation, the original code shall continue to be effective when applying for changing the license.

In the case of withdrawal, the code for the institution shall be invalidated as of the same date.

Article 10

In case of issuing and changing of the license, financial institutions shall declare the validation of the new license in newspaper designated by CBRC or its representative offices, and apply for new license.

In case of withdrawal and cancellation, financial institutions shall declare the invalidation of the lost license in newspaper designated by CBRC or its representative offices, and apply for new license.

Article 11

The declaration shall contain the following information: name of the institution, operation location, code of the financial institution, postal code, and telephone number.

Article 12

The financial license shall be put in an obvious place of the financial institutions. Financial institutions shall introduce its operations and persons in charge in an obvious place by appropriate means.

Article 13

Any units and individual shall not forge and change the financial license. Financial institutions shall not rent, lend or transfer financial licenses.

Article 14

CBRC and its representative offices shall strengthen the information management of the financial license, establish institution management document systems, and publicize information related to financial license according to relevant laws and regulations.

Article 15

CBRC shall charge the applicants examination and registration fees when applicants receive the license and change the license.

Article 16

In case of any of the following circumstances, CBRC shall serve a warning, and require correcting within time limit. In case of failure to correct within the time limit, CBRC may fine an amount less than 30,000 RMB; but CBRC may also deprive the persons in charge where serious offenses are committed:

(I)

fail to comply with the regulations of getting a license

(II)

mangle the financial license;

(III)

lose the financial license and fail to report to CBRC

(IV)

fail to show the license in the operation location;

(V)

forgery, change, leasing, lending, transferring of the license.

Article 17

Any renting, lending, transferring of financial license shall be penalized under the relevant provisions of the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 18

Any forgery, changes to the financial license of the commercial banks will be punished according to the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 19

The financial license shall be printed and managed by CBRC. CBRC shall print the financial license according to the financial license coding system. The license will be in effect when with the seal of CBRC or its representative offices.

Financial license shall be specially kept as important warrant. The issuing, printing, keeping of the license as different functions shall be separated from each other, and the three functions can counterbalance with each other. And registration systems for issuing, printing, withdrawing and canceling of the license shall be established at the same time.

The used license during the issuing process shall be marked as "useless" and filed as important blank warrant to be destroyed regularly,

Article 20

The measures shall enter into force as of July 1, 2003. In case of discrepancy, the Measures of Financial License Control shall prevail.

Attachment:

Financial Institution License Coding System (omitted)