In light of the recent global banking crisis, senior Chinese banking officials have called on the country's top lenders to improve their risk management practices and remain vigilant to macroeconomic shifts.

According to Xie Xiaoxue of China Construction Bank Corp's credit management department, the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse serves as a warning that banks must strictly adhere to regulatory requirements and risk management measures to avoid significant risks. Xie's remarks appeared in an article published on Saturday in China Finance, a magazine affiliated with the central bank.

"China's commercial banks should constantly improve the organizational structure of risk management and strengthen risk governance with sound and prudent measures," Xie wrote. The comments follow the March 10 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the subsequent failure of Signature Bank in the United States, along with the state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse, which forced policymakers to swiftly reassure investors.

Last week, during annual results announcements, executives from China's big five banks said their institutions have limited exposure to the banking crisis. However, they emphasized the importance of managing credit, liquidity, and market risks. Xie urged Chinese banks to fully utilize stress tests and other tools to assess the impact of economic fluctuations and changes in market participants' financial situations.

He added that this would help banks evaluate their ability to handle short-term liquidity suspensions or risk events caused by medium to long-term maturity mismatches between assets and liabilities. Furthermore, Jiang Jianqing, former president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, wrote in China Finance that Chinese banks should "hold the bottom line of no systemic financial risks" when acquiring overseas assets.

Jiang warned that banks should exercise caution when purchasing overseas assets at low prices after a crisis, as the problems of the company being acquired might not be fully apparent, potentially placing a significant burden on the buyer.