Banking News
- ICBC plans to set up private bank
Date: 31-Jul-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
INDUSTRIAL & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is preparing to set up a private banking unit but has ruled out a foreign partnership for the project, the China Securities Journal reported yesterday.
Unlike domestic peers such as Bank of China, ICBC, China's largest lender, has no plans to bring in a foreign partner for the private banking unit, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed industry source.
'Instead, it is preparing for a real, domestic private bank,'said the report.
ICBC officials were not immediately available for comment on the report.
Domestic commercial banks are racing to grab business managing money for wealthy clients in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Global banks, including BNP Paribas and Citigroup, have set up private banking units that target clients with investable assets of US$1 million or more. Local lenders are also gearing up to offer services to the wealthy.
About 10 percent of ICBC's 170 million personal banking clients are high-end customers, some of whom could be future targets for private banking services, the China Securities Journal added. The bank lists shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
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