China mulling move of central bank departments to Shanghai

China's central bank is mulling a transfer of key departments from Beijing to Shanghai in recognition of the city's increasingly important national economic role, state press reported Wednesday. The People's Bank of China's (PBoC) credit information system, anti-money laundering, survey and statistics, and international bureaux could be transferred to Shanghai, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing unnamed banking sources.
The monetary policy offices would remain in Beijing, the newspaper said.
Although the proposal is still in the planning stages, the shift would take effect no later than the first half of next year should it go ahead, the paper said.
Over the past decade Shanghai has established itself as the country's financial capital and it currently hosts some 400 financial institutions, with combined assets of more than two trillion yuan (241 billion US dollars).