The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said Friday it has discovered 776 banking crimes in the first ten months, 219 cases fewer than the same period of last year.

Another 440 cases were stopped by internal auditing, preventing losses of 1.15 billion yuan (143.75 million U.S. dollars), according to sources with the CBRC.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the CBRC, said 80 percent of the cases involved local branch managers. They colluded with other bank staff and outsiders to take advantage of loopholes in the management system and misusing large amounts of capital.

Liu said intensified supervision should be carried out on financial institutions and any banking irregularities should be stopped at the earliest possible stage through internal auditing and the execution of other relevant regulations.

In line with its commitment to the World Trade Organization, China will fully open up its banking industry on December 11.

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