"China News Weekly" reporter/Halik
Published in the 1082nd issue of "China News Weekly" on March 6, 2023
"Get rid of erroneous ideas such as 'financial elite theory', 'money-only theory' and 'Western parity theory', and rectify the hedonism and extravagance of excessive pursuit of 'refinement' of life and 'high-end taste'." February 23, Central The website of the Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission published an article titled "Resolutely Win the Protracted War Against Corruption", in which finance was named 16 times and risks were mentioned 5 times.
The understanding and expression of the "four winds" in the field of finance, state-owned enterprises and industries is more specific, and the signal sent is also clearer, which is relatively rare.
Among them, breaking the "financial elite theory" has been interpreted by the industry as a wake-up call for financial practitioners.
Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of Peking University's Clean Government Construction Research Center, told China News Weekly that the reference to "financial elites" is included in the "integration of wind and corruption", reflecting the attitude of full coverage of anti-corruption, no restricted areas, and zero tolerance.
"Whether it is ordinary staff or high-level managers in the financial field, they are all targets of anti-corruption."
The essence of "financial elite theory" is privileged thinking
Different from daily self-mockery, in the field of anti-corruption, the "financial elite theory" is more serious, and the misconceptions and behaviors it breeds have become one of the reasons for the fall of many financial professionals.
"The term 'financial elite' will bring psychological vanity and political bias to financial practitioners, thinking that they are elites and should enjoy more. Under this concept, they will excessively pursue extravagant life " Zhuang Deshui said.
"China News Weekly" noticed that Wang Ye, former secretary of the party committee and president of Shenzhen Branch of China Construction Bank, who was notified of "double opening" on February 1, was the first member of the central government to be accused of "extravagant life" in the notification this year. Dismissed cadres of high-level financial units.
The report mentioned that Wang Ye "relyed on finance to eat finance"; he accepted gifts and consumer cards that might affect the fair execution of official duties for a long time, and accepted banquets and travel arrangements in violation of regulations; he lived a luxurious life and was greedy for pleasure.
In addition, a reporter from "China News Weekly" sorted out and found that since 2022, in addition to Wang Ye, there are at least five cadres from financial units at the central level who have been sacked.
For example, Yu Huayuan, the former party committee member and vice president of the Liaoning branch of the Bank of Communications, who drives a luxury car and wears a famous watch, is keen on collecting high-end drinks, and pursues vulgar tastes.
Zhang Shian, the former second-level inspector of the Jiangxi Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, was accused of living a luxurious life and drinking Moutai wine at banquets. He called himself a "Moutai wine tasting expert" and accepted hundreds of Moutai wines in violation of regulations.
"The 'financial elite theory' is actually an excuse used by some financial leaders in recent years for their extravagant and hedonistic activities. It is a matter of course to use it for one’s own use, and you have a wrong understanding of the political nature and people’s attributes of finance with Chinese characteristics and state-owned enterprises.” Zhou Yiqin, founder of Guanshao Consulting and an expert on financial supervision policy, said.
"In the beginning, the society talked about financial elites, which was an objective description. Because the financial industry has relatively high incomes, it has indeed attracted many very talented people to join. However, some practitioners think highly of themselves and think that they are superior and do not need to be restrained. There have also been many corruption incidents in the financial field, and they are often intertwined with various market risks. While impacting the real economy, they may also cause systemic risks. Now it is not so appropriate to talk about the "financial elite theory". There are some 'changing tastes'." Zhang Zhengping, professor of the School of Economics of Beijing Technology and Business University and director of the Digital Finance Research Center, said.
Some experts believe that behind the "financial elite" who pursue extravagant life and eventually fall, is the expansion of greed, which breeds comparisons.
The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission once published an article pointing out that the comparison between party members and leading cadres often comes from an imbalance of mentality.
Compared with business owners, they think that they have "great credit" and deserve more rewards. The idea of "suffering losses" accumulates over time, and the mentality of "compensation" will become increasingly prominent.
Gao Fubo, former secretary of the party committee and chairman of Jilin Trust Co., Ltd., saw the bosses of other companies traveling in first class, treating guests to Moutai, and traveling in high-end off-road vehicles.
"For executives in the financial industry, the people you deal with are relatively high-level people. They have private jets and everything, so I feel psychologically unbalanced and weak-willed, so I will slide into the abyss." Former Party Secretary of China Development Bank, Chairman Hu Huaibang once said in the anti-corruption documentary "Zero Tolerance".
In addition to blind comparisons and the pursuit of extravagant life, in Zhuang Deshui's view, the term "financial elite" itself is a manifestation of the sense of privilege, thinking that they have different identities and are a special group of anti-corruption people.
Some in the industry say privilege is a catalyst for corruption.
In recent years, there are not a few cases of financial corruption due to serious privilege ideology.
The National Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection once stated that under the continuous high-pressure situation of positive wind and discipline, there are still a small number of party members and cadres who lack political awareness and have serious privilege thoughts.
Recently, former party secretary and chairman of Jiangxi Bank Co., Ltd., Chen Xiaoming, and He Fangen, former chief business manager of Bank of China's Hebei Branch, were accused of serious privilege thinking and ignoring the spirit of the eight central regulations.
"Elite itself is the object of imitation that people flock to in society. Some people call themselves 'financial elites' and have a wrong understanding. Excessive pursuit of extravagant life beyond their own income will have a negative impact on society. Once the financial industry Those who compare with each other, imitate each other, and use this as a standard will lead to the destruction of the political ecology of the entire financial field. It is not conducive to the implementation of the spirit of the eight central regulations, and it is also not conducive to correcting the "four winds" in the financial field." An interviewed anti-corruption scholar told China News Weekly.
At the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection held recently, Li Xi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, proposed in his work report that the hidden dangers of high-end wine, "high-priced tea", "high-priced cigarettes", and high-priced moon cakes The problem of extravagant pleasure and extravagance behind the scenes should be accurately discovered and seriously investigated and dealt with.
He also emphasized that education guides leading cadres to consciously abide by party discipline and state laws, not engage in specialization, and resolutely break down privileged thinking and privileged behavior.
Zhuang Deshui said that in the face of the eight central regulations and the rectification of the "four winds", no matter whether they are elites or not, as long as they are party members and leading cadres, as long as they are public officials, they should abide by party discipline and state laws, and should consciously act with a good party style. Promote the improvement of social and political style.
The financial sector is important, but not special
"In the past period, the foundation for comprehensive and strict governance of the party in the financial field was weak, and the tendency of 'specialism' and 'exceptionism' in finance was prominent." In an online interview with the website.
Zhang Zhengping believes that the continuous advancement of financial reforms in the past few decades has played an important role in supporting economic growth and improving people's lives.
In addition, the profitability of the financial sector is strong, so the illusion of detached status may arise from this, and the so-called financial "exceptionalism" and "particularism" are derived.
The Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Committee stationed in CITIC Group once conducted research on the use of marketing expense management of CITIC Group and pointed out that some leading cadres still have ideological deviations such as "enterprise specialism" and "financial exceptionism". The profit-making nature, work content, and contacts of enterprises are different from those of party and government agencies, so it is not appropriate to be "overly controlled" in terms of discipline requirements and behavioral standards.
A person from a rural commercial bank told China News Weekly: "Finance is an industry that deals with people, and it is inevitable that there will be some human contacts in daily work. But if you don't pay attention, you will feel that you can be exempted because of the particularity of the industry, and it will be easy. Crossing the red line and violating party discipline and state law."
"The theory of 'financial elite' can easily lead to 'specialism' and 'exceptionalism'. Some financial practitioners think that they are elites and can evade their obligations to abide by laws and regulations, and even believe that they can exchange money or resources to obtain a 'golden medal for avoiding death' .” Zhuang Deshui analyzed.
He further stated that managers in the financial industry who have the erroneous thinking of "specialism" and "exceptionalism" are accustomed to using special resources to seek interests outside the system.
And it will formulate policies out of consideration of its own monopoly position and special interests, and will not take the initiative to benchmark the central government's management requirements for the financial field, which will destroy the authority and unity of policies.
The anti-corruption feature film "Zero Tolerance" disclosed a case of Sun Deshun, former deputy secretary of the party committee and president of China CITIC Bank Co., Ltd., who deviated from policy orientation and seriously violated discipline and law.
According to the feature film, under the background of emphasizing that finance should return to serve the real economy and increase support for the manufacturing industry, Sun Deshun went in the opposite direction. During the meeting, he directly asked the whole bank to immediately suspend all manufacturing loans, even if the lender took 100 % Mortgage also cannot lend out.
During this period, the loan structure of China CITIC Bank changed, with real estate loans increasing by more than 40%, while manufacturing loans declined by more than 30%.
"China News Weekly" reporter found that in the financial anti-corruption storm, the banking industry has become the "hardest hit area".
Most of the sacked cadres' violations of discipline and law are related to credit granting and credit approval, involving power-for-money transactions, rent-seeking for approval rights, and granting loans in violation of state regulations.
The anti-corruption feature film "Forever Blowing the Charge" focused on reviewing the review and investigation of corruption cases in the local financial sector in Shanxi Province.
According to the feature film, Cao Shuangma, the former chairman of Yuci Rural Commercial Bank, accepted 17.25 million yuan in bribes from the "Deyu Department" and gave the "Deyu Department" a green light for multiple illegal financing loans.
Li Shouming, the former party secretary and chairman of Yangquan City Commercial Bank, and Zhao Jiantao, the former deputy party secretary and president, accepted huge bribes and successively raised tens of billions of yuan in violation of regulations for affiliated companies of the "Deyu Department".
Illegal operations in credit business have led to serious accumulation of local financial risks.
"In my country's current financial system, indirect financing led by banks still occupies an important position. And financing is a very important financial business in economic life, so it is easy to have corruption problems in the bank loan link, and the degree of marketization of banks has yet to be resolved. As a result, it is easier to form corruption." Zhang Zhengping said.
"In recent years, financial institutions, especially commercial banks, have had a high proportion of sacked cadres. On the one hand, this is related to the fact that commercial banks have the largest number of institutions and the largest assets in China's financial system; on the other hand, it also exposes the corporate governance of commercial banks. Anti-corruption supervision is relatively weak." Zhou Yiqin said.
According to his analysis, anti-corruption in the banking industry presents several characteristics: first, all types of large, medium and small commercial banks are comprehensively anti-corruption; The number of cases in which top leaders have been dropped has increased significantly. Fifth, officials are still chasing after officials after they retire.
Zhou Yiqin further stated that financial institutions are not cash cows for major shareholders, and senior managers cannot build financial institutions into independent kingdoms.
In the internal governance of the company, the power of supervision is relatively weak.
Over the years, a large number of relevant documents have been released for emergency patching. In terms of corporate governance in the future, financial supervision should focus on strengthening on-site supervision and inspection.
It is recommended to encourage internal personnel of financial institutions to actively report violations of laws and regulations of the institution, and be rewarded and protected.
It is worth noting that the industry once had related arguments about the central bank's "specialism" and "exceptionalism".
"The People's Bank of China plays a central role in the financial system and plays an important role in maintaining financial stability, so some people think it is more important and special. But this should be viewed from the perspective of functioning, and it cannot be justified by this. Talking about being special and talking about privileges. Especially on the issue of anti-corruption, these are completely different things." Zhang Zhengping said.
Xu Jiaai, head of the Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Committee of the People's Bank of China, also said in an online interview that the central bank is the "general gate" of monetary policy and the "general gateway" of financial risks, and it undertakes many financial service functions, management Many financial infrastructures in China are closely related to the people. Once financial corruption and financial risks occur, it will inevitably endanger economic and social development and the interests of the people.
"In response to the argument of 'independence of the central bank', our group specially went to the Department of Monetary Policy to give lectures on the party, focusing on how to understand the political nature, people's nature, pertinence, and effectiveness of monetary policy." Xu Jiaai said.
On the issue of corruption, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have also investigated and dealt with Wang Yonghong, former director of the Science and Technology Department of the People's Bank of China, and Chen Yaoming, former member of the Party Committee and director of the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation. question.
Some experts told China News Weekly that finance is a special industry with scarce resources and a huge amount of assets. There are many risk points and it is necessary to strengthen supervision and strict management.
"It is necessary to resolutely reject erroneous theories such as 'particularism' and 'exceptionalism'."
"Financial 'particularism' and 'exceptionalism' are fatal to the entire financial field. On the one hand, it seriously damages the authority and credibility of the financial field. Because the public will evaluate the fairness of the entire financial field through the industry's popular thoughts and objectivity; on the other hand, to a certain extent, this kind of argument will lead to serious corruption problems, and the operation of power will be separated from the supervision and restriction of specialized agencies, destroying the political ecology of the entire society and forming distorted social values.” Zhuang Deshui explain.
He pointed out that getting rid of the "financial elite theory" will help solve the arguments of financial "specialism" and "exceptionalism".
Therefore, we must first change the ideological cognition of financial practitioners.
It should be recognized that the financial industry can achieve such great results, mainly due to the development of the cause of the party and the country and the steady growth of the economy.
"In addition, around the characteristics of power operation and resource allocation in the financial field, strengthen the supervision and management of the financial field, explore a financial field management mechanism with Chinese characteristics, and prevent financial resources from becoming private resources. We must resolutely investigate and deal with political issues and economic issues. Corruption with intertwined problems. We must prevent political and business collusion, capital infiltration into the political field and other issues, and restore a clear political ecology of finance." Zhuang Deshui said.
"There is nothing special about people who are engaged in the financial industry. The financial industry deals with money. In fact, it is even more necessary for practitioners to have good professional ethics and a stronger sense of social responsibility." Zhang Zhengping said.
"China News Weekly" Issue 8, 2023
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