The top legislature began to deliberate a draft law amendment on Friday that would allow banking supervisory bodies to investigate non-financial institutions and individuals.

The draft amendment to the law on banking regulation and supervision was submitted to the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress for the first reading.

It is designed to further enhance the supervision over China's banking sector. The current law, which came into effect in 2004, allows China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and its subsidiaries to monitor, investigate and gather information only from financial institutions.

But CBRC Chairman Liu Mingkang believes the current law fails to enable the banking watchdogs to effectively crack down on illegal practices in the banking sector.

He said many cases are masterminded by bank insiders in collusion with outside institutions and individuals that banking supervisory bodies have no legal power to investigate.

The CBRC received 76 complaints about obstructions to investigations from its subsidiaries in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)