Looking back at 2025, financial supervision has maintained a normalized posture characterized by "strict oversight, strong accountability, and zero tolerance."
Data compiled from Tonghuashun iFinD reveals that, amid the ongoing strict regulatory environment, the total number of fines and the cumulative penalty amount issued to banking financial institutions (including branches) by the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and their local offices throughout 2025 have shown a significant increase compared to 2024.
Notably, as the trend of "simultaneous accountability" persists in supervision, over 3,000 relevant practitioners in the banking industry were penalized in 2025. Among them, more than 100 bank employees were subjected to lifetime bans from working in the banking sector.
"Sky-high fines" have become noticeably more frequent. Throughout 2025, the "one central bank and two regulatory bodies" issued a total of 2,588 penalty notices to banking institutions, with the total amount confiscated in fines reaching 2.641 billion yuan. This represents a clear upward trend compared to the 1,981 penalty notices and approximately 1.397 billion yuan in fines issued in 2024.
It is noteworthy that among these 2,588 penalty notices, large fines amounting to "millions" or even "tens of millions" have significantly increased. These were primarily concentrated in the second half of the year, culminating in a "peak period of concentrated issuance" towards the year's end.
A review of Tonghuashun iFinD data shows that in 2025, the banking industry received 31 "sky-high fines" each exceeding ten million yuan. In contrast, the regulatory authorities issued only 5 such multi-million-yuan fines to banking institutions in 2024.
Out of these 31 multi-million-yuan fines, 15 were issued in the fourth quarter. The largest single fine of the entire year amounted to a staggering 97.9 million yuan, attributed to imprudent management in areas including corporate governance, lending, interbank business, bill operations, asset quality, and non-performing asset disposal.
On December 31, 2025, Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank was fined 12.844 million yuan by the Shenzhen Branch of the People's Bank of China for nine violations, including "failure to perform customer identity verification obligations as required" and "failure to report large-value transactions or suspicious transaction reports as required." This became the largest fine imposed on a rural commercial bank in 2025.
From the perspective of Xue Hongyan, a special researcher for Jiangsu Commercial Bank, the concentration of large fines at year-end is mainly influenced by the convergence of several key factors. "Firstly, there is the natural effect of the regulatory assessment cycle, where year-end is often a critical window for finalizing problem rectifications and penalty decisions," Xue Hongyan believes. A deeper reason lies in the ongoing exposure of issues, such as the illegal inflow of credit funds into restricted areas, under pressure to defuse risks in key sectors, making them a focal point for regulators.
Over a hundred banking professionals were shown the "red card." Under the "dual punishment" model, major fines in 2025 were not only targeted at banking institutions but also pierced through to hold management and even front-line operational staff directly accountable for compliance. This represents a profound shift from "punishing the institution" to "punishing both the institution and, more importantly, the individuals involved."
Data from Enterprise Early Warning shows that in 2025, financial regulatory authorities issued 3,933 penalty notices to banking practitioners, far exceeding the number of institutional fines. In terms of penalty types, individual penalties mainly included fines, warnings, prohibitions from engaging in related professions/work, confiscation of illegal gains, and orders for corrective action.
Among the penalties issued to individuals, warnings were the most common type of punishment. However, financial penalties saw a significant increase of 39.23% compared to the previous year, becoming markedly more frequent in 2025.
Based on incomplete statistics, over 100 banking practitioners were effectively "sent off the field" by regulators in 2025, receiving lifetime bans from working in the banking industry. The number of such penalties was also significantly higher than in 2024.
For example, on December 19, 2025, due to serious violations of prudent operating rules in credit business, the National Financial Regulatory Administration fined Guangdong Lianzhou Rural Commercial Bank 750,000 yuan. Additionally, Zheng Wen was permanently disqualified from serving as a director or senior manager at the bank and banned for life from entering the banking industry. On the same day, Shangrao Bank was fined 1.7 million yuan for reasons including issuing loans in violation of regulations, and the relevant responsible person, Mao Ruiyang, was banned for life from working in the banking sector.
It has been observed that prior to and including 2020, lifetime industry bans for banking practitioners were not common. Following the introduction of the "Opinions on Strengthening Administrative Penalties for Financial Violations," lifetime bans have gradually become a more normalized form of punishment.
In the view of Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher at Zhaolian and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, the "dual punishment" approach—which imposes different fines and restrictions or prohibitions on engaging in financial business based on the roles and responsibilities of managing personnel, directly responsible individuals, and operational staff—can better enhance the deterrent effect and targeting of regulatory administrative penalties. This strengthens the震慑 effect of punishments, prompting financial institutions and their employees to be more diligent, enhance compliance awareness, and strengthen risk management.
Looking ahead to 2026, many industry insiders anticipate that the基调 of "strong supervision and risk prevention" will continue. However, the characteristics of more precise and常态化 supervision are expected to become even more prominent.
"In 2026, regulatory authorities will focus on the effectiveness of banks' corporate governance and internal controls, data security and consumer rights protection, as well as substantive compliance in policy-oriented businesses like green finance and inclusive finance, strictly guarding against 'greenwashing' and policy arbitrage," in Xue Hongyan's view. "The banking industry should actively utilize technological means to build dynamic risk monitoring systems, optimize business structures, reduce reliance on traditional models prone to violations, tilt resources towards nationally strategic sectors, and, by strengthening a compliance culture across all staff, solidify the foundation for stable operation within a strict regulatory environment."
