西城银行在华扩张计划遭美监管阻拦
根据了解情况的人士透露，美国监管机构对西城银行实施了罚款，理由是其数据管理和风险控制存在瑕疵，这一行动已导致该银行在中国设立独立证券公司的进程受阻。按照要求，西城银行需解决在美国的管理问题，并且在去年七月被合共处以1.36亿美元的罚款后，它仍未获得美联储的认可信件。这封信件是中资方批准其业务的重要条件。
全球范围内的多家大型金融机构，包括花旗和摩根大通等，在近几年面对中国证券业运营的困扰显著加剧，这是由于地缘政治紧张、经济增长放缓及募资活动低迷等一系列因素的影响。
不过，西城银行仍继续与中国证券监管机构进行讨论，并没有撤回其申请的计划。目前情况尚在变化之中，该行也表示将继续致力于支持在中国的客户。
尽管美国货币监理署和美联储未对此事件发表评论，但事实是，中国公司在本地上市所筹集的资金总额已从峰值1080亿美金下降了88%，达到了764亿人民币（约108亿美金），并且数百家公司撤回了首次公开募股计划。
对于西城银行而言，这是一次打击。作为少数几家在中国没有证券业务的大西洋沿岸华尔街金融机构之一，其扩张进程一直受阻于中国新的安全法规要求——规定外商需在获得内地许可前先隔离国内数据。最初，西城银行期望在2023年中期启动投资银行业务，并计划到今年年底完成。
根据中国的法律，外资银行必须满足若干条件才能在中国建立业务，其中包括过去三年内无重大监管处罚、具备管理证券操作的实证经验以及充足资本等要求。中国证监会对此表示支持。
此前，在2020年，西城银行因为违反了监管行动被美联储处以6100万美元罚款，并且还需要向货币监理署支付约7500万美元。此次罚单源于2020年，美国货币监理署对中国银行政策的检查发现其在风险管理、数据管理治理及内部控制方面存在缺陷。
西城银行并没有承认或否认这些指控，只表示正在采取步骤纠正违规行为并遵守法规。同时，在完成对内地市场的进入后，该行已在香港招募了首席执行官、首席财务官和合规总监等关键职位人才以启动证券公司业务。目前，该行已经在国内累积了一些人力资源，并计划首先专注于人民币股票承销及期货交易。
值得一提的是，尽管西城银行是后来者进入中国证券市场并最终从东方证券解散的合资投资银行业务中分离出来，但在2020年允许外国资本完全拥有金融服务公司后，其开始在中国设立自己的业务。尽管如此，该行在华运营范围广泛，包括债券结算、企业债券承销以及国内基金托管等服务，并且为合格的境外机构投资者提供超过20年的资金保管服务，并也为中国银行间债券市场直接投资提供此类服务。
为了全球性重组的一部分，西城银行已经关闭了中国的消费者银行业务网络并将其零售财富管理业务出售给了HSBC控股公司。然而，该行财富部门主管Andy Sieg表示，由于对香港及其与中国大湾区紧密联系的乐观看法，计划在香港增加人才。
新闻来源：www.bloomberg.com
原文地址：Citi’s China Expansion Plan Put on Hold by US Regulators Over Data Management
新闻日期：2024-09-23
原文摘要：
’s expansion plan in China has hit a roadblock with US regulators after the imposed a penalty on the bank for its data management and risk controls, according to people familiar with the matter.The bank is facing delays in setting up a standalone securities firm because it hasn’t yet received a clearance letter from the Fed verifying its regulatory standing, which is required by Chinese authorities. Citi was instructed to resolve its data management problems at home, after being hit with a combined $136 million in fines in July, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.The prolonged process comes as global banks including and have seen their China securities operations hampered in recent years by rising geopolitical tension, slowing economic growth and a slump in fund-raising activities.Citigroup is continuing its discussions with China’s securities regulator to set up the business, and has no plans to pull its application, the people said. The situation is fluid and could change, the people added.“We are unable to comment on our conversations with regulators regarding the ongoing process to obtain a securities license in China,” the New York-based bank said in a statement. “We remain fully committed to supporting clients in this country.”The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declined to comment and the Fed didn’t respond to a request for comment. Chinese companies raised a total of 76.4 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in onshore listings this year, down 88% from a peak in 2022, and hundreds of firms have scrapped their initial public offerings.Even so, the delay is a blow to Citigroup, which is among the few big Wall Street firms without a securities business in China. The expansion has also been delayed by the country’s new security laws requiring banks to segregate domestic data before obtaining licenses onshore. Citigroup had initially aimed to get the investment-banking business up and running by mid-2023, and then to the end of this year, people familiar with the matter said earlier.Under Chinese law, foreign banks must meet several conditions to establish onshore operations, including having no major regulatory fines in the past three years; proven experience in managing securities operations and adequate capital. Officials at the China Securities Regulatory Commission have reiterated their support for the bank’s expansion, the people said.The Fed in imposed a penalty on Citigroup for violating enforcement actions. The bank was ordered to pay $61 million to the Fed and about $75 million to OCC. The fines stemmed from in 2020 when the OCC levied a $400 million penalty for shortcomings in the bank’s risk management, data-governance programs and internal controls. Citigroup didn’t admit or deny the allegations. The bank is “taking steps to correct the violations” and come into compliance, the Fed said at the time.The bank initial documents to Chinese regulators in late 2021 to set up the new business after announcing it would exit retail banking. It had aimed to build its onshore headcount to , focusing on yuan-denominated stock underwriting and futures trading initially. The firm has already recruited a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer and a chief compliance officer for the securities company.A late entrant into China’s securities market, Citigroup dissolved its investment-banking joint venture with Orient Securities Co. and sought to start its own business after China allowed full foreign ownership of financial services companies starting in 2020. Still, Citi has a wide ranging business in China, with licenses for bond clearing, corporate bond underwriting, and for domestic fund custody. It has provided custody services to qualified foreign institutional investors for over 20 years and also provides such services for interbank bond market direct investments. The US bank closed its consumer-banking network in China as part of a global restructuring, and sold its retail wealth management to HSBC Holdings Plc last year. Still, the bank’s head of wealth, Andy Sieg, said earlier this week that it plans to add talent in Hong Kong as it’s bullish on the city and its links with the surrounding Greater Bay Area in mainland China.
