China is to set up a new regulatory commission for the banking industry under The People’s Bank of China, South China Morning Post said. The decision was taken at a Communist Party’s financial conference held in Beijing early in February, where the chief item on the agenda was regulation of the banking sector. Supporters of the decision said that keeping the new regulatory body under the central bank would give it the necessary authority to carry out its decisions, while allowing the bank to concentrate on monetary policy. Other finance industry experts noted that the conference had confirmed the policy of regulatory demarcation and that creating a new body specifically for banking strengthened the government’s policy of not allowing financial institutions to conduct comprehensive financial business. The People’s Bank of China has also agreed to tighten co-operation with the Ministry of Finance to monitor accounting at commercial banks more closely, Financial News said. Under the agreement, the central bank will put in place an information-disclosure mechanism for commercial banks and regulate the operation of the banks more closely, in line with international standards.