July 11 (NBD) -- The China Banking Regulatory Commission Tianjin Office made 5 penalty announcements Tuesday against Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. (601166.SH), China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. (600036.SH), China Guangfa Bank and Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. (000001.SZ).

Branches of the above four banks in Tianjing faced fines ranging from 400,000 yuan (60,391.94 U.S. dollars) to 2 million yuan (301,959.72 U.S. dollars) for providing loans to unqualified borrowers, embezzlement of working capital loans, internal management risks, or combination of all those factors.

Since the beginning of this year, the banking sector has seen a growing number of penalties. According to International Financial News, as of June 30, central and local banking and insurance regulators have issued a total of 1,640 penalty tickets, accumulatively imposing fines of over 1 billion yuan (150.98 million U.S. dollars). This shows the regulators' tough stance on violations in the sector. 

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn