Editor's note: From October 30 to 31, 2023, the Central Financial Work Conference was held in Beijing. The meeting clearly put forward the goal of accelerating the construction of a financial power, emphasizing the promotion of high-quality financial development in the mainland, and providing strong support for comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization. The Central Financial Work Conference raised the banner and planned the layout, providing a fundamental follow and action guide for promoting high-quality financial development in the new era and new journey. In order to better unify thoughts and actions to the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech and the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee, this journal specially organizes a special topic and invites relevant professionals to discuss and exchange ideas on how to study and implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference in the field of wealth management.
Author|Fang Peilei Dong Ximiao "Fang Peilei is the chairman of the board of supervisors of Bank of Wenzhou, Dong Ximiao is the chief researcher of Zhaolian and a part-time researcher of the Institute of Financial Research of Fudan University"
Synopsis:
- At present, it is of great significance for the CPC Central Committee to "actively cultivate a financial culture with Chinese characteristics", not only to adapt to global economic and financial competition, but also to meet the needs of the high-quality development of the mainland's financial industry.
The 2023 Central Financial Work Conference proposed: "It is necessary to vigorously promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture in the financial system, adhere to honesty and trustworthiness, seek profit from righteousness, be prudent, be honest and innovative, and comply with laws and regulations." "On January 16, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the opening ceremony of the seminar on promoting high-quality financial development for major leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial levels, proposing for the first time to actively cultivate a financial culture with Chinese characteristics, and summarized it as honesty and trustworthiness and not exceeding the bottom line; Profit by righteousness, not profit; Steady and prudent, not eager for quick success; Integrity and innovation, not out of the real to virtual; Comply with laws and regulations, and do not act arbitrarily.
After decades of development, China's financial industry has made remarkable achievements. At present, it is of great significance for the CPC Central Committee to put forward the requirement of "actively cultivating a financial culture with Chinese characteristics".
"Five dimensions" illustrate the financial culture with Chinese characteristics
Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. "Actively cultivating a financial culture with Chinese characteristics" is not only the need to adapt to global economic and financial competition, but also the need for the high-quality development of the mainland's financial industry.
On the one hand, at present, the competition between countries in the world, especially in the financial sector, is intensifying. In coping with global financial competition, the mainland should not only strengthen the construction of "hard power" such as modern financial institutions, financial markets, and financial infrastructure, but also promote the improvement of financial "soft power" such as ideas, values, and behavioral norms.
On the other hand, for a long time, we have not studied financial culture deeply enough, and paid insufficient attention to the importance and urgency of financial culture construction, which has led to some risks and problems in the financial industry to a certain extent, such as financial chaos and financial corruption. It can be said that actively cultivating a financial culture with Chinese characteristics is a practical requirement for effectively preventing financial risks and enhancing international competitiveness, and it is also an inevitable requirement for promoting the mainland from a financial power to a financial power.
In general, the five dimensions of financial culture with Chinese characteristics include both the principle requirements in terms of concepts and concepts, as well as the specific requirements in practice. For example, honesty and trustworthiness, seeking profit with righteousness, focusing on guiding financial institutions to form a correct business outlook and values in terms of philosophy; Prudent, upright, innovative, and in accordance with laws and regulations, we focus on guiding financial institutions on how to implement them at the implementation level. At the same time, these five dimensions are organically unified, such as righteousness and profit are not contradictory, the two achieve each other, organic unity, only the balance of righteousness and benefit can achieve both righteousness and benefit, and only the balance of righteousness and benefit can achieve a win-win situation.
●Be honest and trustworthy, and do not cross the bottom line
Looking back at the financial history of China and the West, we can find that the logic of Western finance is value exchange and resource allocation; The ancient finance of the mainland followed the principle of honesty and profit. The financial culture with Chinese characteristics emphasizes honesty and trustworthiness, which requires the financial sector to actively practice the "spirit of contract" and jointly enhance the "soft power" of China's financial sector through the rule of law and the rule of ethics.
● Profit by righteousness, not profit
As early as more than 2,000 years ago, Xunzi pointed out in "Xunzi Honor and Disgrace": Righteousness first and then benefit, and then righteousness and disgrace. In recent years, financial institutions have provided financial support for the development of the real economy through measures such as fee reductions and interest concessions. At the same time, financial institutions continue to expand their service areas, and the availability of finance in key areas and weak links such as inclusive finance continues to improve. The financial culture with Chinese characteristics emphasizes the pursuit of profit by righteousness, which requires financial institutions to conform to the new economic and social development of the mainland and the new expectations of the broad masses of the people, adhere to the people-centered value orientation, adhere to the fundamental purpose of providing financial services to the real economy, and better improve the coverage, availability and satisfaction of financial services.
●Steady and prudent, not eager for quick success
The traditional Chinese business culture particularly emphasizes sound operation, and "seeking profit from the capital" is the most basic and important code of conduct of the ancient money bank, which is in line with the current practice of the financial industry attaching importance to risk prevention and adhering to steady development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has taken great care and taken precautions, always put risk prevention and control in a prominent position, and achieved positive results in the battle to prevent and resolve major financial risks. The financial culture with Chinese characteristics emphasizes prudence and prudence, which requires the financial sector to respect scale, stabilize what should be stable, and advance what should be advanced, not only to develop steadily, but also to prevent risks, and to grasp the rhythm and intensity of financial work.
●Integrity and innovation, not from the real to the virtual
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "only by keeping integrity can we not lose ourselves and not lose our direction, and only by innovating can we grasp the times and lead the times". In recent years, the financial regulatory authorities have carried out continuous and in-depth rectification of problems such as the nesting of funds and various "pseudo-innovations" in the financial field, and have achieved remarkable results.
On the one hand, the financial sector is required to fully implement the major policies and decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on financial work, and adhere to the origin of serving the real economy; On the other hand, the financial sector is required to combine the requirements of new quality productivity and continuously innovate targeted financial products to better meet the financial needs of the real economy.
●Comply with laws and regulations, and do not act arbitrarily
The Central Financial Work Conference proposed that it is necessary to strengthen the construction of financial rule of law, timely promote legislation in key financial areas and emerging fields, and escort the development of the financial industry. In the past 2023, financial anti-corruption is still in a high-pressure situation, according to incomplete statistics on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, at least 101 managers in the financial field will be investigated in 2023. At the 2024 annual work conference, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration further reiterated that it is necessary to resolutely implement the requirements of strong supervision and strict supervision and comprehensively strengthen the "five major supervisions".
On the one hand, the financial culture with Chinese characteristics emphasizes compliance with laws and regulations, and on the one hand, it requires the regulatory authorities to strictly enforce the law, dare to show their swords, increase the cost of violating the law, and maintain financial security and overall social stability. On the other hand, financial institutions should also know and respect and abide by the bottom line, and only by complying with laws and regulations can they achieve stability and long-term success.
"Three aspects" practice of financial culture with Chinese characteristics
Actively cultivating a financial culture with Chinese characteristics will inject traditional and positive cultural genes into China's financial industry, which can better enhance the mainland's financial "soft power" and help build a financial power. Specifically, the five dimensions of financial culture with Chinese characteristics will have an important and far-reaching impact on financial institutions.
Take "righteousness for profit, not for profit" as an example. In the future, financial institutions should pay more attention to both righteousness and profit, pay more attention to playing a functional role, create value and profits in high-quality services to the real economy, and then realize the unity of social and economic benefits. This also means that a series of supporting mechanisms, such as the business philosophy, business structure, and assessment mechanism of commercial banks, should be adjusted and changed accordingly.
Financial culture and financial supervision, one focusing on the rule of ethics and self-discipline, the other focusing on the rule of law and other laws, are complementary and indispensable. The regulator is actively guiding the participants of the financial culture with Chinese characteristics to actively invest in the cultivation and construction of the financial culture, imperceptibly practicing the financial culture with Chinese characteristics through self-discipline, creating a good financial cultural environment, and solidly promoting the high-quality development of the financial industry.
In the next step, the financial industry, especially financial institutions, can cultivate and practice the financial culture with Chinese characteristics from three aspects, and take this as an important content and driving force for the high-quality development of the financial industry.
First of all, in terms of concepts, financial institutions should adhere to the political, people-oriented and professional nature of financial work, establish a correct business outlook, seek profit from righteousness, put functionality in the first place and profit-making in the second place, realize their own value in serving the real economy, and obtain reasonable returns in promoting high-quality economic development.
Secondly, in terms of business development, financial institutions should keep up with the financial needs of the real economy, and actively lay out five major articles: science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance, so as to better serve the development of new productive forces and the construction of a modern industrial system. At the same time, it is necessary to do a good job in risk prevention and control, properly dispose of stocks, strictly prevent increments, and effectively prevent and resolve financial risks in key areas in an orderly manner.
Finally, in terms of the assessment mechanism, financial institutions should take serving the needs of the people and the real economy as the performance baton, continuously optimize the assessment standards, effectively guide practitioners to "be anxious about what enterprises are anxious about and what investors think", improve the adaptability of financial services and the real economy, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results with high-quality services.
(Editor in charge: Lv Jingjing)
