China's banking authorities condemn 'turf war' reports

China's banking authorities on Thursday condemned two Financial Times reports, which said a turf war between the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) is hampering policy coordination.

"The two stories seriously distorted the truth and badly hurt the reputations of the PBoC and the CBRC," the two authorities said in a joint announcement.

"The PBOC and the CBRC always coordinate with each other and work together to promote reform, development and stabilization in China's financial sector," said the announcement.

The cross-ministerial financial regulation council chaired by the PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan has convened three times since the establishment last August, the central bank said in another announcement on Thursday.

"The central bank, the CBRC, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange are closely coordinating in policy making at the council, and the efficiency of financial regulation has been enhanced," said the central bank.

The reports carried by the Financial Times said the central bank and the CBRC were rivals and that the council met just once because of rows between the two.