Reuters

From cutting salaries and bonuses and asking staff not to wear expensive clothes and watches at work, to reining in travel and entertainment expenses, Chinese financial firms have jumped on an austerity drive as Beijing pushes to bridge the wealth gap.

The steps come as authorities vow to clamp down on corruption in the country`s $57 trillion financial sector and as growth in the world`s second-largest economy weakens, with youth unemployment hitting a record high.

Financial professionals are among the highest-paid workers in communist China and their wealth and flashy lifestyles have often come under criticism from the public on social media as the economy slows, drawing Beijing`s ire as well.

China`s top graft-busting watchdog earlier this year vowed to eliminate ideas of a Western-style "financial elite" and rectify the hedonism of excessive pursuit of "high-end taste".

That has prompted a slew of financial firms, both by state-owned and private-sector, to take proactive measures to ensure they don`t fall foul of the authorities, even as official rhetoric on President Xi Jinping`s "common prosperity" drive has ebbed.

Among those measures, staff at a large Chinese state-owned mutual fund and a mid-sized bank have instructed staff not to show off high-end lifestyles, said employees at the firms, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The mutual fund has also asked staff to refrain from posting pictures of expensive meals, clothes or bags on social media, said an employee, to avoid attracting regulatory glare or public criticism.

The mid-sized bank`s employees have been asked to not wear luxury brands or carry luxury bags at workplace, said a person at the lender, adding staff have also been told they can`t stay at five-star hotels when travelling for work.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) plan to cut some allowances of employees at the banks` headquarters from this year, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Allowances to be impacted include one-time summer allowances of about 1,500 yuan ($210) to 2,000 yuan a month, which will be abolished from this month, said the sources, who also declined to be named.

ICBC and CCB did not respond to Reuters request for comment.