Association Articles
Asian Financial Cooperation Association Articles
Asian Financial Cooperation Association Articles
CHAPTER I GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 1
The name of the organization shall be Asian Financial Cooperation
Association (hereinafter referred to as “AFCA”).
Article 2
AFCA shall be a regional non-government and non-profit international organization,
mainly composed of financial institutions, associations of the financial
industry, government related agencies, and relevant professional service
agencies as well as individuals in financial field from Asian countries and
regions on a voluntary basis.
Article 3
AFCA shall abide by the Constitution, applicable laws and regulations
of the registered country as well as respect local social morality. The
philosophy of AFCA shall be Connectivity, Cooperation, Joint Governance, and
Shared Benefits.
Endeavor to be open and
inclusive, with a foothold in Asia. AFCA
shall target primarily financial institutions, associations of the financial
industry and relevant professional service agencies from Asian countries and
regions. Financial institutions beyond Asia are also welcome to join in AFCA. Enhance connectivity and deepen
cooperation. AFCA shall establish platforms for business
contact and communication between various trans-regional financial
institutions, deepen regional financial cooperation, and provide strong
supports for the growth of economy and the development of financial markets in
Asia and the world.
Article 4
The registration authority of AFCA shall be the Ministry of Civil
Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and the superior business agency
shall be China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. AFCA shall be subject
to the operational guidance and supervision of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory
Commission and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 5
The headquarters of AFCA shall be located in Beijing, the People’s
Republic of China.
CHAPTER Ⅱ SCOPE OF BUSINESS
Article 6
Scope of Business
(1) To organize forums and seminars to discuss issues of common
concerns in the international financial community and exchange optimal
financial practices and research achievements;
(2) To build a mechanism for daily communication, promote sharing
of experiences and business contact among various types of members in different
regions, and jointly maintain stabilization of regional economy and finance;
(3) To coordinate communication between members and related
monetary policy and regulatory authorities, regarding topical issues of financial regulatory policies and potential
systematic financial risks, and actively participate in and promote
international financial governance;
(4) To explore promoting connectivity in regional and global financial
infrastructure and communication and cooperation in key financial activities, including
green finance, inclusive finance, industrial finance, Fintech and wealth
management;
(5) To work toward formation of relevant standards in regional and
global financial industry, facilitate implementation and promotion of those
standards, and enhance the level of development in regional financial industry;
(6) To promote regional and global cooperation in the prevention
and control of financial risks and anti-financial crimes, and to safeguard
financial security and stability;
(7) To work toward the establishment of a system to protection financial
consumers’ rights and interests, enhance effectively the education of financial
consumers, and guide relevant members to build a long-term mechanism to protect
consumers’ rights and interests;
(8) To research on integrating regional financial statistical data,
establishing a relevant Big Data System, and promoting it into use;
(9) To release research reports on regional financial development and
set up Asian Financial Cooperation Association Think Tank (abbreviate to Asian
Financial Think Tank);
(10) To coordinate organizing high-level training programs on financial
business, and promote mutual recognition of relevant professional
qualifications across regions; and
(11) To facilitate other business in line with the philosophy of AFCA.
CHAPTER Ⅲ MEMBERS
Section
1 Membership
Article 7
AFCA members are classified into institutional members and individual
members. Institutional members mainly include financial institutions,
associations of the financial industry, government related agencies, and
relevant professional service agencies of Asia countries and regions. Individual
members mainly include executives, senior specialists and scholars with significant
influences in financial fields in the region.
Article 8
Candidates applying for AFCA’s membership shall
meet the following conditions:
(1) To support and comply with AFCA’s Articles;
(2) To voluntarily apply for AFCA’s membership;
(3) To have good reputation and significant
influences in their countries or regions; and
(4) Other conditions required by AFCA.
Section
2 Rights and Obligations of Members
Article 9
AFCA’s members shall have the following rights:
(1) The right to vote and to be elected;
(2) The right to speak and make proposals at relevant conferences
of AFCA;
(3) To participate in activities organized by AFCA;
(4) To get services provided by AFCA with priority;
(5) To supervise work of AFCA and give criticism and suggestions;
(6) To voluntarily join in or withdraw from AFCA; and
(7) Other rights granted by AFCA.
Article 10
Members shall fulfill the following obligations:
(1) To comply with AFCA’s Articles, and enforce its resolutions;
(2) To protect AFCA’s legal rights and interests, and protect
members’ common interests;
(3) To actively assist with AFCA’s work and
participate in AFCA’s activities;
(4) To complete AFCA’s work;
(5) To pay membership fees as stipulated;
(6) To present documents to AFCA that are not assumed to be business
secretes by most people; and
(7) Other obligations to be fulfilled by members.
Section 3 Accession and Secession of
Members
Article 11
Application Procedures:
(1) To submit the application;
(2) To be approved by the Board of Directors;
(3) To be granted with membership certifications by the Secretariat
upon the approval of the Board of Directors; and
(4) To sign the membership agreement between the Secretariat and
members if required.
Article 12 A member
shall inform AFCA in writing of its withdrawal from the
organization three months in advance and its membership shall be terminated
upon the receipt of written confirmation from AFCA. Membership is automatically
terminated if a member does not pay its membership fees within one month upon
receipt of warning after the member have failed to pay the fees without due
cause for one year.
Article 13 In case of
merger, division or dissolution of an institutional member, the original
membership shall be changed or terminated accordingly. Relevant procedures
shall be followed if the member needs to apply again for its membership.
Article 14 Members who violate AFCA’s Articles，or
damage common interests of other members, shall be dismissed from AFCA by voting
in the Board of Directors.
CHAPTER IV ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE, ELECTION AND DISMISSAL OF THE PERSONNEL IN CHARGE
Article 15 The main bodies of
AFCA are as follows:
(1) The General Meeting;
(2) The Board of Directors;
(3) The Executive Board;
(4) The Board of Supervisors; and
(5) The Secretariat.
Article 16 The
General Meeting, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, and the Board of
Supervisors shall serve on a three-year term. In case of an earlier or deferred
change of term for special reasons, they shall be approved by the voting in the
Board of Directors, and reported to the superior business agency for
examination and to the registration authority for approval. However, such deference
shall not be more than one year.
Section 1 The General Meeting
Article 17 The General Meeting has the
most authority and shall undertake following duties:
(1) To formulate and amend AFCA’s Articles;
(2) To elect and dismiss Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary
General, Executive Directors, Directors, Chief Supervisor, Deputy Chief
Supervisors, and Supervisors;
(3) To deliberate on work reports and financial statements prepared
by the Board of Directors;
(4) To deliberate on the formulation and amendment of membership
fees management system, charging standard,
and reducing or exempting membership fees of a
member;
(5) To make decisions on dissolution of AFCA; and
(6) To make decisions on other major issues.
Article 18 The General Meeting shall be
held on-site and/or by correspondence only if more than two-third of all members
attend, and resolutions shall be passed by the votes of at least half of attendees.
Article 19 When the General Meeting is out
of session, the Board of Directors can hold an interim conference to discuss
significant issues upon written proposals by at least one third of the members.
Section 2 The Board of Directors
Article 20 The Board
of Directors is the executive body of the General Meeting and shall lead work
and be responsible to the General Meeting when it is not in session.
Article 21 Duties and
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors
(1) To enforce resolutions by the General Meeting;
(2) To nominate Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Executive Directors, and
Directors;
(3) To prepare for a plenary session;
(4) To report work and financial conditions to the General Meeting;
(5) To decide on recruitment and dismissal of a member;
(6) To decide on reducing or exempting
membership fees of a member;
(7) To decide on incentives of written commendation, circulating a notice of commendation, and
other forms of incentives; and disciplinary actions of a written criticism,
circulating a notice of criticism, and other forms of disciplinary actions to a
member;
(8) To decide on establishing, changing and terminating branches,
representative offices and entities, and lead them in work and decide the
employment of heads;
(9) To decide the hiring of Deputy Secretary Generals;
(10) To propose amendments of AFCA’s Articles and submit to the
General Meeting for deliberation;
(11) To propose amendments of membership fees management system and
related charging standard and submit to the General Meeting for deliberation;
(12) To deliberate on annual work reports and work plans of AFCA;
(13) To deliberate on annual financial budget and final accounts of
AFCA;
(14) To deliberate on the basic financial framework, full-time
executive compensation and other important internal management systems of AFCA;
and
(15) To decide on other major issues.
Article 22 The
Board of Directors shall be held on-site or by correspondence at least one
conference each year, only if more than two-third of Directors attend, and resolutions
shall be passed by the votes of two thirds or more of attendees.
If a
director is unable to attend for any reason, he/she may authorize other
representatives to attend and vote on his/her behalf and shall indicate the
authorization status in the minutes.
Article 23
The Board of Directors shall be composed of several
Directors.
Section 3 The Executive Board
Article
24 AFCA sets up the Executive Board that is elected
from the Board of Directors and the number of Executive Directors shall not
exceed one third of the number of Directors in principle. The Executive Board
shall enforce rights of Numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 under Duties of
the Board of Directors and be responsible to the Board of Directors when the Board
of Directors is out of session.
Article
25 The Executive Board shall be held on-site or
by correspondence at least one conference every six months, only if more than
two-third of members of the Executive Board attend, and resolutions shall be
passed by the votes of two thirds or more of attendees.
If a member
of the Executive Board is unable to attend for any reason, he/she may authorize
other representatives to attend and vote on his/her behalf and shall indicate
the authorization status in the minutes.
Article
26 The Executive Board shall be composed of Chairman,
Vice Chairmen, Secretary General, and other Executive Directors.
Section 4 The Board of Supervisors
Article
27 The Board
of Supervisors is an internal supervisory body of AFCA, and Supervisors
can attend conferences of the General Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Executive
Board as nonvoting delegates.
Article
28 Duties of the Board of Supervisors:
(1) To
supervise collection of membership fees and enforcement of financial budgets
and final accounts;
(2) To
supervise work of AFCA;
(3) To
supervise fulfillment of members’ obligations;
(4) To
nominate Chief Supervisor, Deputy Chief Supervisors and Supervisors; and
(5) To
supervise other major issues.
Article 29 The
Board of Supervisors shall be held on-site or by correspondence at least one
conference each year only if more than two-third of Supervisors attend, and
resolutions shall be passed by the votes of two thirds or more of the attendees.
If a Supervisor is unable to attend for
any reason, he/she may authorize other representatives to attend and vote on
his/her behalf and shall indicate the authorization status in the minutes.
Article
30 The Board of Supervisors shall be composed of Chief
Supervisor, Deputy Chief Supervisors and other Supervisors. Directors and
Supervisors shall not serve concurrently.
Section 5 The Secretariat and the Personnel in Charge
Article 31 The Secretariat
The Secretariat,
standing working body of AFCA, shall undertake the following duties:
(1) To
prepare for conferences of the General Meeting, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and others;
(2) To enforce
resolutions of the General Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Executive
Board;
(3) To
prepare work reports and financial statements;
(4) To be
responsible for fund raising and daily operation of AFCA;
(5) To
draft or revise documents on office, human resources and other internal
management systems;
(6) To
handle issues concerning members’ recruitment, withdrawal and daily communication;
(7) To
set up offices of the Secretariat; and
(8) To decide
on other relevant issues.
Article
32 Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary General, Chief
Supervisor and Deputy Chief Supervisors shall meet the following conditions:
(1) To observe
laws and discipline, be diligent and dedicated, and have a good personal credit
record;
(2) To have
relevant professional knowledge, experience and capabilities, and have major
influence in business fields of AFCA;
(3) To
be healthy and able to fulfill responsibilities. The maximum age of Chairman,
Vice Chairmen and Secretary General shall be less than 70;
(4) To have
full capacity for civil conduct; and
(5) No other
conditions exist that bar one from taking office.
Article
33 If Chairman, Vice Chairmen and Secretary
General of AFCA exceed the age ceiling, it shall be approved by voting in the Board
of Directors and then reported to the superior business agency for examination
and to registration authority for approval before they take office.
Article
34 Tenure of Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary
General, Chief Supervisor and Deputy Chief Supervisors of AFCA shall be three
years. Chairman shall not seek a second term; and Vice Chairmen, Secretary
General, Chief Supervisor and Deputy Chief Supervisors shall not serve for more
than two terms. Under special conditions, their tenure can be extended if it is
approved by the votes of two thirds or more of members of the General Meeting,
and then reported to the superior business agency for examination and to the
registration authority for approval before they resume duties.
Article
35 Chairman of AFCA shall fulfill the following
duties:
(1) To preside
over conferences of the General Meeting, convene and preside over those of the
Board of Directors and the Executive Board;
(2) To
organize and lead various major work;
(3) To
check enforcement of resolutions by the General Meeting, the Board of Directors
and the Executive Board;
(4) To
nominate the Secretary General; and
(5) Other
duties of Chairman shall be executed.
Article
36 Vice Chairmen of AFCA shall fulfill the
following duties:
(1) To
assist Chairman with work;
(2) Upon
the approval from the Board of Directors, to be acting Chairman of the Board of
Directors when Chairman fails to fulfill his/her duties for certain reasons;
and
(3) Other
duties of Vice Chairmen shall be executed.
Article
37 Chief Supervisor of AFCA shall fulfill the
following duties:
(1) To
convene and preside over conferences of the Board of Supervisors;
(2) To
lead work of the Board of Supervisors; and
(3) Other
duties of Chief Supervisor shall be executed.
Article
38 Deputy Chief Supervisors of AFCA shall fulfill
the following duties:
(1) To
assist the Chief Supervisor with work;
(2) Upon
the approval from the Board of Supervisors, to be acting Chief Supervisor of
the Board of Supervisors when Chief Supervisor fails to fulfill his/her duties
for certain reasons; and
(3) Other
duties of Deputy Chief Supervisor shall be executed.
Article
39 Secretary General shall be a full-time Chinese
staffer and shall be ex-officio Director of the Board of Directors. Secretary
General shall be the legal representative of AFCA and lead work of the Secretariat.
Legal representative of AFCA shall not hold an equivalent post of any other
groups.
Article
40 Secretary General of AFCA shall fulfill the following
duties:
(1) To
represent AFCA and sign important documents on behalf of AFCA;
(2) To be
in charge of daily work and help implementation of annual work plans;
(3) To
coordinate work among all branches, representative offices and entities;
(4) To
preside over all conferences of AFCA, other than those of the General Meeting, the
Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors;
(5) To
nominate Deputy Secretary Generals;
(6)
To decide on employment of the staff of the Secretariat; and
(7)
To handle other daily activities.
CHAPTER V PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT AND USE OF ASSETS
Article 41 Sources of AFCA’s
Funds
(1)
Membership fees;
(2)
Donations;
(3) Endowments;
(4)
Income from approved activities or services;
(5)
Interest; and
(6)
Other legitimate income.
Article
42 AFCA shall charge
membership fees according to relevant regulations of countries
of registration.
Article
43 AFCA’s funds shall be used for business
development within the scope as promulgated in AFCA’s Articles, and shall not
be distributed among members.
Article 44 AFCA
shall establish a strict financial management system to ensure legitimacy,
truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of accounting information.
Article 45 AFCA
shall have hired qualified professional accounting personnel. Financial accounting
positions shall set up in line with the requirements of internal control,
implement the standardized financial accounting procedures, strengthen internal
accounting supervision, and standardize the management of accounting files.
Article
46 AFCA’s assets management shall follow financial
management system of countries of registration, and be subject to supervision
of the General Meeting and the Financial Sector. AFCA’s assets from
appropriations and donations from countries of registration are subject to
supervision from audit agencies. Audit results shall be disclosed to AFCA’s members
and the public in proper ways.
Article 47 AFCA
shall employ accounting firm to conduct independent auditing of annual income
and expenditure, which shall be disclosed to AFCA’s members. Audits of change of legal representative and
other circumstances shall implement the relevant provisions of the country of
registration.
Article 48 Assets
of AFCA shall not be embezzled, distributed privately or misappropriated by any
group or individual.
Article
49 Full-time staff shall be compensated by AFCA,
and compensation shall depend on AFCA’s development, specific business areas
and economic development in region where they serve.
CHAPTER VI PROCEDURES
TO AMEND THE ARTICLES
Article 50 Amendments
to AFCA’s Articles shall be adopted by the votes of the Board of Directors, and
submitted to the General Meeting for deliberation.
Article 51 Amendments
to AFCA’s Articles shall be submitted to the superior business agency for
examination and approval within 15 days after they are approved by the General
Meeting, and come into effect after ratification by the registration authority.
CHAPTER VII DISSOLUTION PROCEDURES AND DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY
Article 52 If AFCA
completes its missions, or dissolves itself, or needs to be deregistered due to
any division or merger, the Board of Directors shall propose a motion of
dissolution.
Article 53 The
dissolution motion shall be adopted by the votes of the General Meeting and
submitted to the superior business agency for examination and approval.
Article 54 Before
dissolution, AFCA shall set up a liquidation committee
with guidance of the superior business agency and other relevant organizations
to settle claims and debts and handle post-dissolution issues. AFCA shall not
conduct any business irrelevant to liquidation during the course of
liquidation.
Article 55 AFCA
shall be dissolved after deregistration formalities at the registration
authority.
Article
56 AFCA's residual assets after dissolution shall
be used for the cause related to AFCA’s missions under supervision of the
superior business agency and the country of registration authority in
accordance with relevant government regulations.
CHAPTER VIII SUPPLEMENTARY
PROVISIONS
Article 57 The
articles were adopted by the votes of the General Meeting on 22 December, 2020.
Article 58 The official
working languages of AFCA shall be Chinese and English.
Article 59 The
Board of Directors of AFCA shall reserve all rights of interpretation of the Articles.
Article 60 The Articles
shall come into effect on the date when AFCA obtains approval from the registration
authority.