NFRA Issues Guiding Opinions on the Secure Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Banking and Insurance Sectors

On June 18, 2026, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) released the Guiding Opinions on the Secure Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Banking and Insurance Sectors (the “Opinions”), which took effect upon issuance.

The Opinions set out provisions in seven areas: governance structure, development and application, data governance, computing capacity development, risk governance, security capabilities, and regulatory safeguards. They require the establishment of a full-life-cycle management system and a risk classification and grading mechanism for artificial intelligence; designate as high-risk applications generative artificial intelligence scenarios involving fund transactions, credit approval, underwriting and claims settlement, and other scenarios directly affecting the conclusion of financial contracts, which must be approved by the Risk Management Committee; require generative artificial intelligence models introduced from external sources to be filed with the cyberspace administration authorities; prohibit the use of personal information and private data, such as names, identity card numbers, mobile phone numbers, and bank card numbers, for the training and optimization of generative artificial intelligence models; and require the use of generative artificial intelligence for public-facing services or in high-risk scenarios to be reported to the National Financial Regulatory Administration or its local offices.