It concerns securities firms! Pilot program formally implemented! China Securities Association latest release!

On March 24, the Securities Firms China reporter learned from industry insiders that the China Securities Association (CSA) plans to revise the “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles” (hereinafter referred to as the “Revised Draft”) and is seeking industry feedback.

It is reported that the “Revised Draft” includes multiple modifications, changing from the previous “trial” to “formal implementation”; adjusting some indicator calculation standards, such as adding indirect investment methods in the “Technology Sector Equity Investment” indicator, and including projects like overseas listings of domestic companies in the statistics for “Technology Sector Equity Financing” and other items; some evaluation indicators have been removed.

Multiple Scoring Indicator Adjustments

The revision changes the title from “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles (Trial)” to “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles,” transitioning from trial to formal implementation. The “Revised Draft” also adjusts the calculation standards for some indicators.

First, in the statistics for the four indicators: “Technology Sector Bond Financing,” “Green Sector Bond Financing,” “SME Bond Financing,” and “Private Enterprise Bond Financing,” management of asset-backed securities (ABS) has been added.

Second, in the indicators “Technology Sector Equity Financing” and “Technology Sector M&A Transactions,” projects such as overseas listings of domestic companies and cross-border M&A have been added to the statistics.

Third, the scope of the “Technology Sector M&A Transactions” indicator has been expanded from serving as an independent financial advisor for major asset restructuring projects to serving as a financial advisor for such projects.

Fourth, in the “Technology Sector Equity Investment” indicator, indirect investment methods have been added.

Fifth, the scope of the “Pension Funds” indicator has been expanded to include personal pension products and their corresponding pension target fund products.

The “Revised Draft” also optimizes the scoring standards for indicators.

First, the range for quantitative indicator bonus points has been expanded. To encourage more institutions to actively promote the five major financial articles, the ranking bonus range has been extended from the top 50 (1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-50, after 50) to the top 60 (1-10, 11-20, 21-40, 41-60, after 60).

Second, the scoring method for the continuous investment growth rate has been adjusted. To promote differentiated and specialized development of securities firms, the “business resource continuous investment” score calculation has been changed from a comprehensive growth rate to a specialized growth rate, allowing evaluated companies to focus resources on niche areas.

Third, the scoring and grading rules for indicators have been unified. The bonus point logic for each detailed indicator has been standardized, and related scores have been reasonably optimized. When indicator scores are the same, the score differences across grades are generally maintained consistent.

The “Revised Draft” also removes some evaluation indicators. To align with the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s (CSRC) “Classification Evaluation Regulations for Securities Firms” and avoid duplication, the detailed indicator “Securities Technology Awards” under the “Digital Finance” category has been deleted. Correspondingly, the score for the “Digital Finance” indicator “Securities Firm Digital Maturity” has been increased from 8 to 10 points. After adjustments, the total number of evaluation indicators has been reduced from 14 to 13, with the total score remaining unchanged.

Initial Trial Evaluation Implemented

It is reported that, to better motivate securities firms to leverage their resources and business characteristics to promote the five major financial articles, and based on the experience from the first trial evaluation, combined with feedback from regulatory authorities and industry organizations, the CSA plans to revise the “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles (Trial).”

In 2025, to implement the “Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Five Major Financial Articles in Capital Markets” and the “Securities Firm Classification Evaluation Regulations,” and to guide securities firms in promoting the five major financial articles, under the guidance of the CSRC’s Institutional and Comprehensive Departments, the CSA formulated the “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles (Trial)” and completed the first trial evaluation accordingly.

Overall, the evaluation results objectively reflect the ability and effectiveness of various securities firms in practicing the five major financial articles. Industry feedback indicates that the coverage of evaluation indicators related to the five major financial articles could be further expanded. In light of the economic and social development goals during the “14th Five-Year Plan,” to better accommodate industry differentiation and specialized development needs, and to enhance the function and service quality of the five major financial articles, it is necessary to further revise and improve the “Evaluation Measures for Securities Companies’ Excellence in the Five Major Financial Articles (Trial).”

It is understood that the latest evaluation indicators in the “Revised Draft” allocate 90 points for quantitative indicators, 10 points for qualitative indicators, and 5 bonus points. Quantitative indicators include: Technology Finance 50 points, Green Finance 10 points, Inclusive Finance 10 points, Pension Finance 10 points, and Digital Finance 10 points.

In September 2025, the CSA completed the first trial evaluation. The CSA organized the reporting and review of evaluation data for 107 participating securities firms (consolidated data), and provided one-on-one feedback to each firm through the data submission system to confirm the evaluation data. The rankings of major quantitative indicators were publicly disclosed within the industry. According to the evaluation plan, the results of this promotion of the five major financial articles will be incorporated into the 2025 securities firm classification evaluation, with scores converted proportionally (full score of 100 points converted to 1 point). To enhance the motivational and guiding role of the evaluation and ensure fairness, the basic score will be excluded from the conversion (firms with only the basic score will not receive additional points in the classification).

Layout: Wang Yunpeng

Proofreading: Liu Xingying