The central bank issued "Interbank Market Brokerage Business Management Measures", which will come into effect on January 1st next year.

In order to strengthen the supervision of interbank market brokerage business, regulate the behavior of brokerage institutions and market participants, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of market participants, the People's Bank of China has formulated the "Interbank Market Brokerage Business Management Measures", which will be implemented from January 1, 2026. It is mentioned that before brokerage institutions engage in capital reductions, mergers, spin-offs, dissolutions, custody, suspension of operations, application for bankruptcy, involvement in major lawsuits, changes in major shareholders, and other major events as stipulated by the People's Bank of China, they should report to the People's Bank of China and announce to the market within 3 working days after the event. Brokerage institutions should establish a sound communication management system and strengthen the management of various communication tools. The expressions provided by brokerage business personnel to clients for inquiries, quotations, etc. should meet the standard requirements. The mobile phone, handheld computer, and other mobile communication tools of brokerage business personnel during trading hours should be kept in a centralized manner. The fixed telephone of brokerage institutions should be recorded. Instant messaging tools that meet the conditions should be monitored and complete records should be kept. Recordings, communication records, and other transaction-related materials should be fully documented, complete, and retained for at least 5 years. The full text is as follows: Interbank Market Brokerage Business Management Measures Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 In order to regulate the provision of brokerage services by financial institutions (hereinafter referred to as brokerage institutions) and financial institution investors (hereinafter referred to as entrusting parties) to conduct brokerage business in the interbank market, maintain the stable operation of the market, protect the legitimate rights and interests of market participants, and in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations such as the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China, these Measures are formulated. Article 2 The brokerage business and brokerage services referred to in these Measures refer to the intermediary services provided by brokerage institutions to facilitate financial transactions, including providing quotation and inquiry information and matching trading intentions for the entrusting parties. Article 3 Brokerage institutions may provide brokerage services in the money market, bill market, gold market, interbank bond market, and related derivative markets based on the entrusting needs, and shall not provide brokerage services for financial institutions to participate in bond issuance businesses. Chapter II Brokerage Institutions and Practitioners Article 4 Brokerage institutions entering the interbank market to engage in brokerage business shall report to the People's Bank of China, provide materials such as various brokerage business rules, internal risk management systems, and perform approval and filing procedures in accordance with the relevant regulations of the financial regulatory authorities. Article 5 Brokerage institutions shall have sound business management systems and internal control systems, conduct relevant business prudently, and take effective measures to prevent risks. Brokerage institutions that are not specifically engaged in brokerage business shall establish an independent brokerage business department, have professional brokerage personnel and dedicated brokerage channels, and strictly separate brokerage business from proprietary business. Article 6 Before brokerage institutions engage in capital reductions, mergers, spin-offs, dissolutions, custody, suspension of operations, application for bankruptcy, involvement in major lawsuits, changes in major shareholders, and other major events as stipulated by the People's Bank of China, they shall report to the People's Bank of China and announce to the market within 3 working days after the event. Article 7 Brokers must undergo relevant professional training before going on duty, receive annual training, and strictly abide by the professional ethics of the brokerage industry. The head of the brokerage department should have more than 5 years of experience in the financial market, and brokerage personnel should have more than 1 year of experience in the financial market and be familiar with the relevant regulations and business rules of the interbank market. Chapter III Business Management Article 8 Before providing interbank market brokerage services to entrusting parties, brokerage institutions shall conduct due diligence on the qualifications of customers, not provide services to non-interbank market participants, and not provide relevant market brokerage services to institutions that have not signed main agreements such as bond repurchase, bond lending, derivative trading, etc. Entrusting parties shall cooperate with brokerage institutions in their work and provide the necessary information for due diligence. Article 9 Before providing interbank market brokerage services to entrusting parties, brokerage institutions shall sign service agreements with entrusting parties, fully explain the quotation and matching rules, service fee rates, priority in obtaining quotations, and carry out business strictly in accordance with the agreement, treat customers fairly, and keep customer information confidential. Financial institution investors accepting brokerage services shall sign an agreement. Brokerage institutions shall not directly or indirectly provide inquiry, quotation, and matching services to customers who have not signed agreements. Article 10 Brokerage institutions shall truthfully reflect the inquiry and quotation information accepted from the entrusting parties when providing inquiry and quotation information to customers, and shall not provide false quotations. The quotations and transaction intentions displayed by brokerage institutions to their customers should be clearly stated and presented according to the rules. Article 11 Brokerage institutions conducting matching business in the interbank market shall follow the principles of fairness, impartiality, honesty, and good faith. Brokerage institutions should conduct trading matching for the actual entrusting parties, not for non-interbank market participants, except for settlement agent banks acting on behalf of overseas institutions to seek quotations. Article 12 Brokerage institutions shall disclose the best brokerage quotations and transaction-by-transaction transaction information to the outside world in real-time, complete and accurately, and not selectively display, not display, or lag in displaying quotation and transaction information. Article 13 Brokerage institutions shall promptly submit to the interbank market basic infrastructure designated by the People's Bank of China the quotation and transaction information related to the interbank market business entrusted by their customers, and the submission content shall be timely, complete, and accurate. Article 14 Brokerage institutions and entrusting parties shall use communication tools that ensure the identity of both parties' staff and the authenticity of the entrustment for commission and trade feedback. Instant messaging tools used by brokerage institutions and entrusting parties for conducting brokerage business should meet the following conditions: (1) Confirm that the communication account used by the staff of the institution is authorized by the institution and strictly separated from personal accounts. (2) Ensure that users register with real identity information and authenticate the identity information submitted by users. (3) Keep all chat records, including text, voice, emojis, images, files, etc. in the domestic secure database, and retain them for at least 5 years. (4) Support the retrieval of historical communication records for monitoring and dispute resolution purposes. Article 15 Brokerage institutions should establish a sound communication management system and strengthen the management of various communication tools. The expressions provided by brokerage business personnel to customers for inquiry, quotation, etc. should meet the standard requirements. The mobile phones, handheld computers, and other mobile communication tools of brokerage business personnel during trading hours should be kept in a centralized manner. The fixed telephone of brokerage institutions should be recorded. Instant messaging tools that meet the conditions should be monitored and complete records should be kept. Recordings, communication records, and other transaction-related materials should be fully documented, complete, and retained for at least 5 years. Article 16 Money broker companies operating in the interbank market, other brokerage institutions' brokerage departments, and brokerage business personnel shall not engage in the following behaviors: (1) Directly or indirectly hold trading positions. (2) Directly or indirectly control trading accounts. (3) Use brokerage business information advantages to obtain undue gains during the matching process. (4) Manipulate market prices through insider information, collude with entrusting parties for trading, fake quotations, etc. (5) Provide brokerage services beyond the scope permitted by regulations or provide brokerage services to clients that do not meet the requirements. (6) Treat customers unfairly, engage in price discrimination, price deception, etc. that harm the interests of entrusting parties. (7) Falsify records without actually providing matching services. (8) Fail to comply with information disclosure rules on electronic information channels, selectively disclose or manipulate quotation information. (9) Actively or cooperate with third parties to engage in arranging trading chains, evade regulation, circumvent internal controls, engage in improper benefit transfers, etc. (10) Engage in marketing activities beyond legitimate business conduct and disrupt market order. (11) Use communication tools that do not meet the requirements for brokerage services, or fail to comply with communication management requirements. (12) Fail to timely, completely, and accurately report market entry, data submission, or personnel information. (13) Other behaviors that violate laws, regulations, and relevant regulatory requirements. Chapter IV Supervision and Management Article 17 The People's Bank of China shall conduct supervision and inspection of the business activities of brokerage institutions in the interbank market in accordance with the law. Article 18 Interbank market basic infrastructures monitor brokerage institutions' business activities through relevant systems. Interbank market self-regulatory organizations manage brokerage institutions autonomously. Brokerage institutions shall provide true, accurate, and complete information to interbank market basic infrastructures and self-regulatory organizations. Article 19 Financial regulatory authorities shall supervise and inspect the internal control system construction and business conduct norms of the financial institutions under their management in accordance with their responsibilities, and impose penalties on related illegal and irregular activities. The People's Bank of China and financial regulatory authorities have established a cooperation mechanism for supervising brokerage business, enhancing information sharing, and communication coordination. Chapter V Legal Liability Article 20 If a brokerage institution has any of the following circumstances, the People's Bank of China may impose administrative sanctions in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China and other laws and regulations: (1) It has the circumstances stipulated in Article 16 of these Measures or other behaviors that violate these Measures. (2) It fails to cooperate with business monitoring, self-regulation management, or employment management according to the requirements of these Measures. (3) It has behaviors that violate other relevant regulatory requirements and business rules of the interbank market. Article 21 Financial institutions participating in the interbank market and using brokerage services provided by brokerage institutions shall comply with the relevant provisions of these Measures. If they violate the relevant provisions of these Measures, the People's Bank of China may impose administrative sanctions in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China and other laws and regulations. Article 22 If a brokerage institution engages in insider trading, market manipulation, benefit transfers, illegal business activities, etc., it shall bear corresponding responsibilities according to the law; if it is suspected of violating the Securities Law and meets the relevant criteria for filing a case, it may be transferred to the securities regulatory department for punishment; if it is suspected of committing a crime, it shall be transferred to the judicial authority for criminal prosecution according to the law. Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions Article 23 These Measures shall be interpreted by the People's Bank of China. Article 24 For new entrustments received after the implementation of these Measures, brokerage institutions shall sign service agreements as required. For entrustments generated before the implementation of these Measures, brokerage institutions shall supplement service agreements with entrusting parties by July 1, 2026, and meet the conditions stipulated in these Measures. Article 25 These Measures shall be implemented as of January 1, 2026. This article is based on the official website of the People's Bank of China, edited by GMTEight: Jiang Yuanhua.