The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 21, the China Financial Supervision and Administration issued the “Measures for the Management of Insurance Companies' Assets and Liabilities”. It is proposed that insurance companies should clearly define the asset liability management responsibilities of the board of directors and senior management, and establish an asset liability management organization system with the board of directors bearing ultimate responsibility, direct leadership by senior management, coordination between asset and liability management departments, mutual cooperation between functional departments, clear division of labor for inspection and supervision by internal audit departments, clear reporting lines, and efficient execution.
The Measures consist of 6 chapters and 46 articles, including general provisions, governance structures, policies and procedures, regulatory indicators and monitoring indicators, supervision and management, and supplementary provisions.
The first is to clarify asset liability management goals and management principles. Insurance companies should assume the main responsibility for asset liability management, adhere to the principles of comprehensive coverage, reasonable matching, prudence, and coordination, and effectively prevent the risk of misallocation of assets and liabilities.
The second is to standardize the asset liability management governance structure. Insurance companies clearly establish an organizational system where the board of directors bears ultimate responsibility, is directly led by senior management, coordinated by leading asset and liability management departments, cooperates with functional departments, and inspects and supervises by internal audit departments.
The third is to clarify asset liability management policies and procedures. Insurance companies are required to formulate asset liability management plans, strengthen asset liability linkage in business planning and product development, product pricing management, insurance business management, asset allocation policies, major investments, and commissioned investments, carry out stress tests and retrospective analysis, prepare regular reports, and make timely adjustments to asset liability management plans.
Fourth, establish regulatory indicators and monitoring indicators. In line with the adjustments of the new accounting standards and solvency rules, asset liability supervision indicators were established to clarify the target threshold values; some monitoring indicators were added, and differentiated warning ranges were set to enhance the sensitivity of the indicators.
The fifth is to strengthen supervision and management. Clarify insurance company information reporting, third party review and capability assessment requirements, and supervisors may take supervisory measures or implement administrative penalties in accordance with the law as appropriate.
The original text is as follows:
The State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration issued the “Measures for the Management of Insurance Companies' Assets and Liabilities”
In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, effectively prevent systemic risks, improve the prudential supervision system, and raise the level of asset liability management in the insurance industry, the General Administration of Financial Supervision recently issued the “Measures for the Management of Assets and Liabilities of Insurance Companies” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”) and the “Notice on Matters Relating to the Implementation of the 'Measures for the Management of Insurance Companies' Assets and Liabilities”.
The promulgation of the “Measures” is an important measure to implement the spirit of “Certain Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening Supervision and Risk Prevention and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Insurance Industry”, enhancing the resilience of insurance industry operations, and improving the prudential supervision system. On the basis of the draft for solicitation of comments, the “Measures” were refined in line with opinions from various parties and industry test results, proposed asset liability management goals and principles, standardized asset liability management governance structures, policies and procedures, established regulatory indicators and monitoring indicators, and improved relevant supervisory measures to strengthen supervision and management. The implementation of the “Measures” will help guide insurance companies to establish a prudent and prudent business philosophy, strengthen the coordination and linkage of assets and liabilities, prevent the risk of misallocation of assets and liabilities, and maintain the healthy and sustainable development of the insurance industry. At the same time, the “Measures” promote insurance companies to lengthen the assessment and evaluation cycle, improve the performance evaluation system, give full play to the long-term advantages of insurance funds, and serve the high-quality development of the real economy.
In the next step, the General Administration of Financial Supervision will do a good job in implementing the “Measures”, push the insurance industry to continuously improve the level of refined management, speed up the completion of transformation and upgrading to improve quality and efficiency, and steadily prevent systemic risks.
Insurance companies' asset liability management measures
(Order No. 4 of 2026 of the State Financial Supervisory Administration of August 20, 2026 promulgated to take effect on January 1, 2027)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the “Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China” in order to prevent the risk of mismatch between insurance assets and liabilities, enhance the asset liability management capabilities of insurance companies, strengthen asset liability management constraints, and maintain the safe and steady operation of the insurance industry.
Article 2. Insurance companies referred to in these Measures refer to commercial insurance companies established by law in China to operate insurance business, including property insurance companies and personal insurance companies.
Article 3 Asset liability management referred to in these Measures means that an insurance company formulates, implements, evaluates and adjusts policies and procedures relating to assets and liabilities in accordance with the company's development strategy, business goals and risk appetite to maintain a reasonable match between assets and liabilities and reduce the risk of misallocation of assets and liabilities.
Article 4. Insurance companies' asset liability management goals include term structure matching, cost and benefit matching, liquidity matching, etc.
Term structure matching means that insurance companies can maintain a reasonable match between asset cash flow and debt cash flow in a long-term structure, enhance the company's economic value, and prevent interest rate risks and reinvestment risks.
Cost-benefit matching means that an insurance company's asset return can cover the cost of debt, have a certain level of continuous profitability, and prevent the risk of interest spreads and losses.
Liquidity matching means that an insurance company can obtain sufficient funds to pay due debts or fulfill other payment obligations in a short period of time to prevent liquidity risks.
Article 5. Insurance companies shall assume the main responsibility for asset liability management, establish and improve asset liability management systems, and strengthen the joint management of assets and liabilities. Insurance companies' asset liability management should adhere to the following principles:
(1) Comprehensive coverage. Asset liability management covers all assets and liabilities of insurance companies' ordinary accounts, manages assets and liabilities as a whole, takes into account the characteristics of different types of liabilities, and adopts differentiated asset allocation policies.
(2) Reasonable matching. Balance and liability matching is a match that is compatible with the company's development strategy, risk appetite, capital strength and management capabilities. Insurance companies should be able to effectively manage the risk of mismatch between assets and liabilities and keep the degree of mismatch within a reasonable range.
(3) Prudent and prudent. Asset liability management should ensure that assets and future income cover the insurance company's obligations, capital requirements, and other responsibilities or activities to the policyholder, insured person or beneficiary. The debt side adheres to the long-term steady management philosophy, optimizes the debt structure, and enhances the core competitiveness of the business. The asset side adheres to the concept of long-term steady value investment and follows the principles of safety, liquidity and profitability.
(4) Coordination. Asset liability management should coordinate multi-dimensional goals such as economic value, profitability, liquidity, and solvency requirements, reflect the mutual influence between assets and liabilities, and consider the correlation between different asset classes, as well as the correlation between products or business types.
Article 6 The State Financial Supervisory Administration and its dispatched agencies shall supervise and manage the asset liability management activities of insurance companies in accordance with law.
Insurance industry self-regulatory organizations regularly exchange and train insurance companies' asset liability management experiences to strengthen communication, coordination and information sharing.
Chapter II Asset Liability Management Governance Structure
Article 7 An insurance company shall clearly define the asset liability management responsibilities of the board of directors and senior management, and establish an asset liability management organization system with the board of directors bearing ultimate responsibility, direct leadership by senior management, coordination between asset and liability management departments, mutual cooperation between functional departments, clear division of labor for inspection and supervision by internal audit departments, clear reporting lines, and efficient execution.
Insurance group (holding) companies should fully consider the suitability of assets and liabilities at the group level, establish and improve the asset liability management organization system, clarify the corresponding responsibilities of the board of directors, senior management and internal departments, urge insurance companies and insurance asset management companies within the group to strengthen joint asset liability management, and effectively identify, measure, monitor and control the overall risk situation of the insurance group.
Article 8 The board of directors of an insurance company shall perform the following asset liability management duties:
(1) Approve the overall goals and strategies of asset liability management;
(2) Approve or authorize the approval of asset liability management related systems;
(3) Approve business plans and products that have a significant impact on the company's balance and liability matching status;
(4) Approve asset allocation policies, including strategic asset allocation plans and annual asset allocation plans, and approve or authorize the adjustment plans of asset allocation policies;
(5) Approve the annual asset liability management report, continue to pay attention to the balance and liability matching situation, and keep abreast of the risk level of asset and liability mismatch, management status and major changes;
(6) Approve the asset liability management performance evaluation system;
(7) Other related duties.
The board of directors shall establish an asset liability management committee (or committee with corresponding functions). The Asset Liability Management Committee is responsible for reviewing or approving proposals relating to asset liability management in accordance with the authorization. The Asset Liability Management Committee shall include at least three directors. The director shall be the chairman or director with relevant experience in asset liability management. The members shall have the expertise, experience and ability required to perform asset liability management duties.
Article 9. The senior management of an insurance company shall perform the following asset liability management duties in accordance with the authorization of the board of directors:
(1) Reviewing or approving asset liability management related systems in accordance with authorization;
(ii) Formulate, regularly evaluate and monitor the implementation of asset liability management policies and procedures;
(3) Formulate and organize the implementation of business plans and asset allocation policies;
(4) Reviewing or approving insurance product dividends and universal settlement policies, as well as products that have a significant impact on the company's balance and liability matching status;
(5) Listen to reports on asset liability management at least quarterly to control and manage the risk of asset and liability mismatch;
(6) Establish an asset liability management performance evaluation system;
(7) Other related duties.
Senior management should establish an asset liability management executive committee and clarify its mandate. The director of the Asset Liability Management Executive Committee shall be the general manager or a member of the Asset Liability Management Committee. The members include at least company-level leaders in charge of product, actuarial, main sales channels, investment, risk management, finance, etc.
Article 10 An insurance company shall establish or designate an asset liability management department, equipped with the human and material resources required to perform its duties of asset liability management, and shall maintain independence in carrying out its duties without interference from insurance business and investment departments. The asset liability management department shall perform the following duties:
(1) Formulate systems related to asset liability management;
(ii) Formulate and coordinate the implementation of asset liability management policies and procedures;
(3) Formulate or participate in formulating risk tolerances and risk limits related to asset liability management, track and monitor asset liability matching status, and study problems and solutions in asset liability management;
(4) Formulate or participate in the formulation of the company's business plans, capital plans, asset allocation policies, and liquidity risk management policies, issue professional opinions on major investments and products that have a significant impact on the balance and liability matching situation, and provide decision support for senior management;
(5) Coordinate the development of asset liability management information systems (or model tools);
(6) Coordinate implementation of asset liability management performance assessments;
(7) Other relevant duties.
Article 11 Insurance companies shall clarify the division of responsibilities and reporting requirements of product, actuarial, main sales channels, investment, risk management, finance and other functional departments in asset liability management. The asset liability management department shall take the lead in organizing an interdepartmental asset liability management working group to meet at least every quarter to discuss matters relating to asset liability management.
Article 12 Insurance companies shall establish an asset liability management performance assessment system, clarify performance assessment methods and standards, standardize the transmission mechanism and limit management of asset liability matching indicators, implement long-term assessments and evaluations, and prevent relaxation of asset liability management due to excessive pursuit of business expansion and short-term profits.
Insurance companies should include asset liability management content in their annual training plans, step up training efforts, and ensure that relevant personnel have the necessary expertise, experience and ability.
Article 13 The internal audit department of an insurance company shall review and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of asset liability management at least once a year.
The internal audit report on asset liability management shall be submitted to the board of directors. The board of directors shall urge senior management to take timely corrective measures in response to the problems found in the internal audit, and the internal audit department shall follow up and check the implementation of the rectification measures.
Article 14 Insurance companies shall strengthen the construction of informatization, establish asset liability management information systems (or model tools) appropriate to the complexity of the business, improve information system management systems, improve data management mechanisms, clarify internal control processes for using and maintaining information systems and related models, strengthen business authorization and information system authority management, evaluate the effectiveness of information systems at least every year, and have techniques and measures to ensure the effective and safe operation of information systems.
Chapter III Asset and Liability Management Policies and Procedures
Article 15 An insurance company shall formulate asset liability management policies and procedures according to the nature, scale, complexity and risk characteristics of the company. The main contents include:
(1) Carrying out asset and liability analysis and formulating asset liability management plans;
(2) Coordinate relevant functional departments to strengthen joint asset liability management in areas such as business planning, product development and pricing, insurance business management, asset allocation policies, and major investments;
(3) Conduct asset liability management stress tests and retrospective analysis;
(4) Prepare and review asset liability management reports on a regular basis;
(5) Evaluate and adjust asset liability management plans in a timely manner.
Article 16 Insurance companies shall use appropriate methods and models to calculate and analyze indicators such as asset liability term structure, cost benefit, and liquidity under normal and stressful situations, set indicator warning values and risk limits in line with the overall goals and strategies of asset liability management, and formulate asset liability management plans.
Property insurance companies should use reasonable methods to forecast deposit funds and establish management and evaluation mechanisms for deposit funds.
Life insurance companies should reasonably determine forecasting assumptions and forecast asset cash flow and debt cash flow separately in conjunction with business plans and asset allocation policies.
Article 17 Insurance companies shall rationally formulate and promptly adjust business plans and product development plans in accordance with insurance market needs, changes in the asset-side situation, and asset-liability matching requirements, and optimize the product business structure.
Insurance companies should strengthen the management of products that have a significant impact on the company's balance and liability matching situation, clearly determine standards, study and analyze the investment strategies corresponding to the products, and the impact on the company's solvency and balance and liability matching status.
Article 18 Property insurance companies shall optimize product pricing models, methods and tools, and strengthen product pricing management.
Life insurance companies should do a good job of dynamically evaluating and monitoring debt costs in accordance with industry predetermined interest rates linked to market interest rates and dynamic adjustment mechanisms. When formulating insurance product dividends and universal settlement policies, they should evaluate their impact on the balance and liability matching situation, especially cost benefit matching.
Article 19 Insurance companies shall manage and evaluate the impact of major changes in product structure, sales channels, and cost policies, as well as large deviations from expectations on the balance and liabilities of the company.
When deciding on reinsurance arrangements, property insurance companies should measure liquidity risks caused by centralized claims, default by reinsurance counterparties, and untimely reinsurance amortization due to major insurance events such as catastrophes.
Article 20 An insurance company shall, in accordance with the characteristics of insurance business liabilities, comprehensively consider the company's risk appetite and risk limits, balance and liability matching requirements, long-term expected return and solvency management, determine expected return targets and risk indicators for various types of accounts, and formulate, implement and adjust asset allocation policies.
Insurance companies should identify professionals who perform asset allocation risk management and compliance responsibilities, so that they are independent of those implementing asset allocation policies.
Article 21 Before making major investment decisions, insurance companies shall evaluate and analyze the impact of investment activities on the balance and liabilities of the company and corresponding accounts based on factors such as solvency constraints, risk appetite, market environment, and regulatory requirements.
Major investments referred to in these Measures include single major equity investments, single major stock investments or acquisitions of listed companies, single investment real estate held in the form of property rights or project company shares, or investments with a cumulative investment amount of 3% or 3 billion yuan (or equivalent in foreign currency) of the company's total assets at the end of the previous quarter, excluding investments in domestic central government bonds, provincial government bonds, quasi-government bonds, policy financial bonds and bank deposits, cash and liquidity management tools.
Article 22 Where an insurance company entrusts an insurance asset management company to invest as a trustee, it shall strengthen information sharing with the trustee and provide the trustee with liability information that may affect its investment decisions, including long-term goals, return on investment requirements, changes in cash flow expectations, etc. The trustee shall provide the insurance company with information such as the implementation of asset allocation policies, etc., and cooperate with the insurance company to calculate and analyze balance and liability matching indicators.
Article 23 Insurance companies shall conduct regular stress tests, analyze the impact of potential risk factors on the term structure, cost benefits and liquidity of assets and liabilities, and take corresponding preventive measures. The stress test should meet the following requirements:
(1) Stress testing scenarios should combine macroeconomic and market environment changes to cover risk factors on the asset side, debt side and capital side;
(2) Reasonably and carefully set pressure scenarios and test periods, and fully consider specific impacts affecting the term structure, cost benefits and liquidity of insurance companies' assets and liabilities, systemic shocks affecting the entire market and a combination of the two, as well as mild and severe stress levels;
(3) Consider the intrinsic correlation of various types of risk and the impact of market volatility on insurance companies' risk, and implement stress tests and reverse stress tests based on the company's actual situation;
(4) When determining asset liability management plans and formulating business plans and asset allocation policies, fully consider the stress test results, and adjust the above content according to the stress test results if necessary.
Article 24. Insurance companies shall establish a traceability mechanism for asset liability management, carry out retrospective analysis every year, and take improvement measures to study major deviations. The retrospective analysis should include at least the following:
(1) The deviation between expected premium income and actual premium income for various types of accounts;
(2) The deviation between the long-term return assumptions for major asset classes and the deviation between the expected return on investment and the actual return on investment by type of account;
(3) The deviation between the expected debt capital cost ratio and debt guarantee cost ratio for various types of accounts and the actual debt capital cost ratio and debt guarantee cost ratio;
(4) Comparison and attribution analysis of asset liability management goals and achievement conditions.
Article 25 An insurance company's asset liability management information system (or model tool) shall have at least the following functions:
(1) Measure asset liability matching indicators;
(2) Support the monitoring and control of the transmission mechanism and limit management of asset liability matching indicators;
(3) Measure the impact of risk factors such as market risk, credit risk, and surrender risk on the balance and liability matching situation;
(4) Measure the impact of internal decisions and changes in business planning, insurance product dividends and universal settlement policies, asset allocation policies, etc., on the balance and liability matching situation;
(5) Support the implementation of asset liability management stress tests under different hypothetical scenarios.
Article 26 An insurance company shall establish a standardized asset liability management reporting system, clarify the content, form, frequency and scope of submission of reports, and ensure that the board of directors, senior management and other management personnel keep abreast of the balance and liability matching status and its management status.
Article 27 An insurance company shall, in accordance with factors such as changes in the macroeconomic situation and market conditions, track the trend of balance and liability matching indicators and major influencing factors, evaluate and adjust asset liability management plans in a timely manner, and carry out corresponding approval procedures in accordance with factors such as changes in the macroeconomic situation and market conditions, taking into account changes in its own solvency situation and risk changes.
Chapter IV: Regulatory Indicators and Monitoring Indicators
Article 28 An insurance company shall calculate asset liability management supervision indicators and monitoring indicators at the legal entity level. For regulatory indicators, set minimum regulatory standards to strengthen index limit management; monitoring indicators are used to identify and warn the risk of mismatch between assets and liabilities to improve the level of risk management.
Article 29 Asset liability management supervision indicators for property insurance companies include deposit capital coverage ratio, income coverage rate, and liquidity coverage ratio. Among them:
Deposit capital coverage ratio = deposited capital ÷ medium- to long-term assets. The minimum regulatory standard is not less than 100%.
Revenue coverage = (income from insurance services+comprehensive investment income) ÷ comprehensive cost. The minimum regulatory standard is not less than 100%.
The minimum regulatory standard for liquidity coverage is not less than 100%. The calculation method is implemented in accordance with the relevant liquidity risk supervision rules of the China Financial Supervisory Authority.
Article 30 The asset liability management supervision indicators of personal insurance companies include interest rate risk hedging ratio, comprehensive investment return coverage ratio, net investment return coverage rate, and liquidity coverage ratio. Among them:
Interest rate risk hedging rate = cash flow inflow interest rate sensitivity ÷ cash outflow interest rate sensitivity. The minimum regulatory standard is between 50% and 150%; for personal insurance companies with an interest rate risk hedging rate of less than 50%, the cash flow inflow interest rate sensitivity is not less than 5%.
Comprehensive investment return coverage = comprehensive investment income ÷ debt capital cost. The minimum regulatory standard is not less than 100%.
Net return on investment coverage = net return on investment ÷ guaranteed cost of debt. The minimum regulatory standard is not less than 100%.
The minimum regulatory standard for liquidity coverage is not less than 100%. The calculation method is implemented in accordance with the relevant liquidity risk supervision rules of the China Financial Supervisory Authority.
Article 31 The asset liability management monitoring indicators of property insurance companies include interest spread 1 (difference between comprehensive return on investment and capital cost ratio), interest spread 2 (difference between net return on investment and debt capital cost ratio), and interest spreads under stressful situations.
Article 32 Asset liability management monitoring indicators for life insurance companies include effective term gap, base point value change rate, interest spread 3 (difference between accounting return on investment and debt guarantee cost ratio), interest spread 4 (difference between return on new fixed income assets and minimum required return on new business liabilities), interest spreads under stressful situations, liquidity matching rates, and cost benefit matching indicators and liquidity matching indicators for various types of accounts.
Article 33 The State Financial Supervision and Administration may adjust the content, calculation caliber, calculation frequency, and supervision standards of asset liability management supervision indicators and monitoring indicators of the industry or specific insurance companies in accordance with the requirements of prudential supervision.
Chapter V: Supervision and Management
Article 34 The State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration and its dispatched agencies shall establish a mechanism for regular analysis of asset liability management supervision, strengthen supervisory coordination, supervise and inspect the asset liability management situation of insurance companies in accordance with law, and implement differentiated supervision measures.
Article 35 Insurance companies shall establish and improve information reporting mechanisms and submit quarterly asset liability management reports and annual reports to information platforms designated by the State Financial Supervision and Administration in accordance with regulations to ensure that the information is timely, true, accurate and complete. The report includes:
(1) The basic situation of assets and liabilities, including asset allocation status, asset credit status, debt product information, etc.;
(2) The balance and liability matching situation, including term structure matching, cost and benefit matching, liquidity matching, etc.
Article 36 In an insurance company's annual report on asset liability management, the basic situation and matching of assets and liabilities shall be verified by an independent tripartite review agency. In addition to the contents of the above report, the annual report should also explain the insurance company's asset liability management goals, organizational chart, personnel and responsibility arrangements, as well as business plans, asset allocation policies, and retrospective analysis.
Article 37 Insurance companies shall evaluate the asset liability management capacity building situation once a year, including the governance structure, policies and procedures, etc., and submit relevant information to the information platform designated by the State Financial Supervision and Administration in accordance with regulations.
The State Financial Supervisory Administration and its dispatched agencies evaluate the asset liability management capacity of insurance companies, and include asset liability matching indicators and capacity building conditions in insurance companies' regulatory ratings.
Article 38 The State Financial Supervisory Administration and its dispatching agencies may set differentiated warning values or warning ranges for asset liability management supervision indicators and monitoring indicators in accordance with the insurance company's business model, issue risk alerts in due course, or require insurance companies to submit management plans to prevent deterioration in the balance and liability matching situation.
Article 39 For insurance companies that do not meet asset liability management supervision standards or have defects in asset liability management, the State Financial Supervisory Administration and its dispatched agencies may take the following measures according to specific circumstances:
(1) Conduct supervisory and management discussions with the board of directors and senior management of insurance companies, and request them to formulate practical rectification plans and time-limited compliance plans;
(2) Issuing regulatory opinions, including issues in insurance companies' asset liability management, proposed corrective measures, and opinions on meeting standards within a limited period of time;
(3) Require insurance companies to conduct more stringent stress tests and submit more effective improvement plans;
(4) Require insurance companies to increase the content of asset liability management reports and increase the frequency of reports;
(5) Increase the content of on-site inspections of insurance companies, expand the scope of inspections, and increase the frequency of inspections.
Article 40 For insurance companies that are not fully rectified, the State Financial Supervisory Administration and its dispatching agencies shall, in accordance with law, require insurance companies to adjust the insurance business structure or asset allocation structure, improve the balance between assets and liabilities, and take other measures stipulated by laws and regulations.
Article 41 Where an insurance company violates the provisions of these Measures, the State Financial Supervision and Administration and its dispatching agencies shall implement administrative penalties in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Where there is no provision in laws or administrative regulations but violates these Measures, the State Financial Supervisory Authority and its dispatched agency shall order the correction; if the correction is overdue or the circumstances are serious, the insurance company and its directors, senior managers, and other directly responsible persons shall be warned, notified and fined not more than 100,000 yuan; if it endangers financial security and has harmful consequences, it shall issue a warning, notification of criticism, and a fine of not more than 200,000 yuan.
Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions
Article 42 Policy insurance companies, mutual insurance organizations, self-insurance companies, and branches of foreign insurance companies shall apply these Measures by reference. In foreign insurance company branches that do not have a board of directors, senior management performs the corresponding duties and responsibilities of the board of directors.
Article 43. Rules for managing stress scenarios for insurance companies' assets and liabilities shall be formulated separately.
Article 44 “above,” “below,” and “not less than” referred to in these Measures include the number of copies.
Article 45: The State Financial Supervisory Administration is responsible for interpreting and revising these Measures.
Article 46: These Measures take effect on January 1, 2027. The “Notice of the China Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission on Issuing the 'Interim Measures on the Management and Supervision of Insurance Assets and Liabilities'” (Banking Insurance Regulatory Authority (2019) No. 32) was abolished at the same time.
Relevant departments and bureaus of the State Financial Supervisory Administration answered questions from reporters on the “Measures for the Management of Insurance Companies' Assets and Liabilities”
In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, effectively prevent systemic risks, improve the prudential supervision system, and raise the level of asset liability management in the insurance industry, the General Administration of Financial Supervision has formulated the “Measures for the Management of Assets and Liabilities of Insurance Companies” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Notice”) and the “Notice on Matters Relating to the Implementation of the 'Measures for the Management of Assets and Liabilities of Insurance Companies'” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Notice”). Comrades in charge of relevant departments of the General Administration of Financial Supervision answered questions from reporters.
1. What is the background of the enactment of the Measures?
Effective asset liability management is the foundation for the sustainable operation of financial institutions. Since 2018, the supervisory authorities have issued the “Interim Measures on the Supervision of Insurance Assets and Liabilities Management” and five regulatory rules, and initially established an asset liability management supervision system that conforms to the characteristics of the domestic insurance industry.
In recent years, the external environment and internal conditions for the development of China's insurance industry have undergone major changes, putting forward new requirements for insurance companies' asset liability management. First, the 2024 “Certain Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening Supervision and Risk Prevention and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Insurance Industry” clearly proposed “strengthening joint supervision of assets and liabilities.” The “Measures” are one of the important measures of the General Administration of Financial Supervision to implement the spirit of important documents of the State Council, enhance the resilience of industry operations, and improve the prudential supervision system. The second is to respond positively to the low interest rate market environment, push insurance companies to improve asset liability management governance structures, policies and procedures, and strengthen asset liability coordination and linkage. The third is to strengthen the links between systems. In 2026, the insurance industry fully implemented the new accounting standards, and the balance and liability matching index was adjusted accordingly. The impact of interest rate fluctuations on assets and liabilities increased significantly, placing higher demands on asset liability management capabilities.
2. What is the main idea behind the formulation of the Measures?
The formulation of the “Measures” mainly follows the following ideas: First, adhere to problem orientation. Focus on issues such as disconnected asset and liability management, unclear policies and procedures, lack of regulatory standards for indicators, and insufficient regulatory measures to make up for the shortcomings of the system. The second is to reflect economic value. Balance and liability matching indicators and pressure scenario settings reflect the company's real economic value and risk level, and reduce interference caused by rule setting or human assumptions. The third is to promote management optimization. Relevant indicators and standards should have management significance to help company management improve management, reduce risk levels, and enhance company value. Fourth, strengthen institutional coordination. Enhance adaptability and consistency between regulatory rules, unify the calculation caliber of indicators, and avoid repeated coverage of risks.
3. What are the main contents of the Measures?
The Measures consist of 6 chapters and 46 articles, including general provisions, governance structures, policies and procedures, regulatory indicators and monitoring indicators, supervision and management, and supplementary provisions.
The first is to clarify asset liability management goals and management principles. Insurance companies should assume the main responsibility for asset liability management, adhere to the principles of comprehensive coverage, reasonable matching, prudence, and coordination, and effectively prevent the risk of misallocation of assets and liabilities.
The second is to standardize the asset liability management governance structure. Insurance companies clearly establish an organizational system where the board of directors bears ultimate responsibility, is directly led by senior management, coordinated by leading asset and liability management departments, cooperates with functional departments, and inspects and supervises by internal audit departments.
The third is to clarify asset liability management policies and procedures. Insurance companies are required to formulate asset liability management plans, strengthen asset liability linkage in business planning and product development, product pricing management, insurance business management, asset allocation policies, major investments, and commissioned investments, carry out stress tests and retrospective analysis, prepare regular reports, and make timely adjustments to asset liability management plans.
Fourth, establish regulatory indicators and monitoring indicators. In line with the adjustments of the new accounting standards and solvency rules, asset liability supervision indicators were established to clarify the target threshold values; some monitoring indicators were added, and differentiated warning ranges were set to enhance the sensitivity of the indicators.
The fifth is to strengthen supervision and management. Clarify insurance company information reporting, third party review and capability assessment requirements, and supervisors may take supervisory measures or implement administrative penalties in accordance with the law as appropriate.
4. What are the main contents of the “Implementation Notice”?
The “Implementation Notice” clarifies tasks such as report submission and transition period arrangements after the “Measures” are introduced. The main contents include:
The first is information submission requirements, including time limits for quarterly asset liability management reports and annual reports submitted by insurance companies to supervisory authorities, as well as requirements such as system reporting, capacity assessment, and report backtracking.
The second is the transition period requirement for regulatory indicators. For insurance companies that have not yet met the regulatory standards, it is permitted to set a three-year transition period. The insurance company shall formulate a compliance plan, clarify the schedule, obtain approval from the board of directors and report to supervision for implementation, and the supervisory authorities shall follow up and evaluate the regulatory indicators during the transition period.
The third is to strengthen organizational implementation. Companies are required to do a good job in organizational leadership, speed up the construction of information systems, improve the level of data governance, and achieve efficient connection of information submission.
The annexes to the notice include the contents and requirements of asset liability management reports, capacity assessment forms, and stress scenario settings.
5. What are the changes in the “Measures” compared to the draft for solicitation of comments?
In the public consultation process, the insurance industry and other parties actively participated and put forward 341 comments and suggestions on the “Measures”. The vast majority of comments have already been adopted. It mainly includes the following aspects:
The first is to improve the responsibilities of the board of directors, senior management, and asset liability management departments. Increase the responsibility of senior management to review or approve asset liability management systems, corresponding to the responsibilities of the board of directors. Adjust transactional arrangements, such as the frequency with which the Asset Liability Management Committee listens to reports, and simplify the work process. Improve the asset liability management department's statement of responsibilities, and further improve the functional positioning.
The second is to optimize asset liability management policy and procedure requirements. It is required that changes in the balance and liability situation be taken into account in business planning and product development. In the entrustment investment relationship, it is clear that the client provides the trustee with necessary information such as long-term goals, return on investment requirements, and changes in cash flow expectations. The deviation backanalysis between the expected allocation ratio and the actual allocation ratio is taken into account in the uniform backanalysis of the deviation between the expected return on investment and the actual return on investment.
The third is to improve the calculation caliber of some regulatory indicators. Replace the long-term gap index with the interest rate risk hedging rate to more intuitively reflect the degree of hedging of interest rate risk on assets and liabilities. Improve the calculation caliber of precipitated capital coverage, comprehensive investment income coverage, and liquidity coverage indicators to support insurance companies to increase the allocation of highly secure and highly liquid assets, truly reflect the cost and benefit matching situation, and effectively prevent liquidity risks.
This article was selected from the official website of the “China Financial Supervisory Administration”. Zhitong Finance Editor: Feng Qiuyi.