LISTED Chinese banks will face stricter rules over their risk exposure details from September 1, said the securities regulator.

Listed banks need to disclose the face values, interest rates and maturities of the financial bonds they hold as well as provisions for their investments under new rules posted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on its Website.

They are also required to disclose any investment and sale of more than 2 billion yuan, or more than 5 percent of their annual net assets.

The rules followed the release of interim reports of several banks which have disclosed their investment in bonds issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two troubled United States mortgage finance firms.

China Construction Bank said on Sunday that it held bonds issued by the two firms worth US$3.25 billion yuan, the highest among the listed banks which have disclosed details. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's most profitable bank, said it held such assets worth US$2.18 billion while China Merchants Bank held US$255 million in such assets.

Most Chinese banks managed to escape the impact from the global financial turmoil triggered by the US subprime crisis.