In 2018, the PBC completed the mid-term evaluation of the implementation of the Plan for the Development of Financial Standards System (2016–2020) and the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Information Technology in the Financial Sector of China and followed up on their progress.
Two national financial standards —the Insurance Terminology and the Securities and Relevant Financial Instruments Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) —and 40 financial-industry standards were released, including the Specifications on Basic Descriptions of Commercial Bank Collateral, which effectively met the demands of financial services and regulation. The PBC established specialized working groups in areas such as digital fiat currency, green finance, and financial IT infrastructure to promote development of standards in those areas. Six industry associations, such as the National Internet Finance Association and the Payment & Clearing Association of China, released 11 financial standards on the platform of the State Administration of Standardization which publishes various standards. The standards developed by market participants started to play important roles. A standard system characterized by “Government + Market” was gradually built up as the standards coexist and complement one another.
The PBC organized the programs of “Promoting Financial Standards to Strengthen Financial Services” on a regular basis. It launched a program on financial standardization to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up policy and published all financial-industry standards to the public, whose awareness of financial standards was enhanced significantly. In areas such as financial inclusion, currency/gold/silver, FinTech, and cybersecurity, financial standards have played an effective role in serving both the society and the corporate sector.
Together with various government authorities, corporate sectors, educational institutions, academic agencies, and users, the PBC worked to promote the national priority project of “Key Technical Standards for Financial Risk Prevention and Control” that encompasses important research projects including the development of financial-product standards and the integration of financial standards and financial governance. The PBC explored new patterns for the development of financial standards by launching pilot programs in Chongqing and Zhejiang for innovations in financial standards. It also strengthened international cooperation in financial standardization to promote the development of three ISO standards on descriptions of banking products or services, IT security targets of third-party payment providers, and an application program interface based on the Web.
（Source: The PBC Annual Report 2018）
