A recent survey should be encouraging to overseas banks looking
to expand their business in the prosperous Guangdong Province.
The survey indicated that up to 79.5 per cent of the local
population would open a bank account and do their banking business
in foreign bank branches in the province within 12 months.
Currently about 3.1 per cent of local residents have opened
accounts in overseas banks that obtained approval from regulators
to formally offer retail renminbi services on the mainland earlier
this year.
Local financial experts said the survey's findings are good news
for overseas banks that have for years had their sights set on the
vast mainland market.
HSBC, the largest bank in Europe, as well as Citigroup, Standard
Chartered Bank and the Bank of East Asia passed the regulator's
audit in late April and now have unlimited access to domestic
household savings in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.
Local residents are attracted to overseas banks' professional
standards, quality service, wide range of financial products and
wealth management expertise, according to the survey conducted by
the Guangdong Provincial Condition Survey and Research Center.
Cheng Zhiming, a local white-collar worker, said he opened a
foreign bank account because of its good service.
"I'm often offered a cup of coffee or tea when I arrive in the
overseas bank, while I have to queue in a long line and wait for
sometimes more than an hour in domestic banks," Cheng said.
"Domestic banks have been trying their best to improve their
service in recent years, but they still have a long way to go to
reach the standards of overseas banks," he added.
Chen said he believes more foreign bank branches will soon be
available to local residents in the Guangdong capital because of
the province's rapid economic growth and local residents' fattening
wallets.
Guangdong residents' bank savings balance reached 2.3 trillion
yuan at the end of April, leading the county.
(China Daily June 22, 2007)