The joint-stock commercial banks in China should establish rigid controls and prevent further growth of credit risks, said Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

“We need to examine thoroughly the financing situation of the ‘zombie companies’ and accelerate the disposal of nonperforming loans,” he said during a keynote speech to leaders of the 12 national joint-stock commercial banks at the 2016 Annual Conference of National Joint-stock Commercial Banks in Tianjin on Dec 12.

Figures from the CBRC show that the NPL balance of Chinese joint-stock commercial banks in the 3rd quarter of 2016 reached 317 billion yuan ($45.95 billion), up about 7 percent from the 2nd quarter. The NPL ratio in the 3rd quarter was 1.67 percent, while that in the previous quarter was 1.63 percent.

Shang said that the banks should firmly maintain depositors’ rights and prevent bad loans. They should also put noncredit businesses, such as notes financing and bond investing, under a unified credit granting and risk management system. This will help them truly assess risks and maintain control over such problems as borrowers having too much leverage.

Pan Guangwei, executive vice-president of the China Banking Association, said that the association has launched campaigns against escaping and revoking bank debts. So far, they have collected more than 120 cases and exposed more than 730 organizations that have escaped or revoked bank debts.

Shang said that joint-stock commercial banks should put risk prevention and control higher on their agenda in the future.

“The regulation of the banking industry globally will be stricter, and the cost of violating the regulations will be much higher, so joint-stock commercial banks should do their utmost to abide by the regulations,” he said.

While making innovations in their business, they need to make sure these changes support the real economy, are helpful for risk management, and protect the legal rights of depositors, he said.

Shang also called on banks to prevent and control financial risks that may occur in businesses that are cross-industry and cross-market.

Moreover, the joint-stock commercial banks should also prevent and control their liquidity risks. They need to calculate how various financial products impact their cash flow. By controlling the duration of their loan portfolios and increasing liquid reserves, they can be prepared to face a changing financial environment, he said.