Correspondence: Sebastian Florian Brück, Department of Financial and Management Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, UK. E-mail: sebbru@hotmail.com

¹Following studies in Oxford, London and Taipei, the author recently completed his PhD in Financial and Management Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and now works for a major international strategic consulting company.

Abstract

While China's financial sector currently develops towards greater integration of the banking, securities and insurance sectors, the country's regulatory architecture remains segmented. Reviewing the relevant literature, this paper suggests that setting up an integrated financial sector regulator yields benefits in terms of scale and scope economies, as well as improved oversight capabilities over financial conglomerates. At the same time, a lack of focus can count against integrated regulatory agencies. In the case of China, it is argued that the country has now reached a point where it can benefit from a 'super regulator'. The latter's focus should initially be on China's emerging class of integrated financial institutions, with smaller, more focused firms remaining under specialised oversight for the time being.