China Postal Savings Bank is expected to open for business by the end of this year, a senior banking official revealed Monday.

A China Banking Regulatory Commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua preparatory work for the new bank should be completed within six months. The bank will open branches in post offices around the country, which already offer some financial services.

China's State Council, or the Cabinet, already gave the nod to the bank a month ago.

The CBRC official said that China Postal Savings Bank will be managed according to stringent corporate governance featuring a board of directors, a board of supervisors and senior management.

CBRC vice-chairman Cai Esheng revealed earlier the new bank will largely focus on retail and intermediary business, "forming sound, complementary relations with other commercial banks" to contribute to the development of the "new socialist countryside," a concept the Chinese government has raised amid efforts to boost rural development.

The latest statistics show the nationwide postal savings stations had a deposit balance of 1.48 trillion yuan (US$185 billion) by the end of March, making the new bank the country's fifth largest, just after the "Big Four" state banks.

Postal savings services were kicked off in 1986 with the establishment of the China Post Savings and Remittance Bureau.

Postal savings stations take deposits from the public, which, however, are held by the central bank. The difference between the stations' interest income from the central bank and the interest paid to clients, has been the major source of profit even as traditional postal services have declined.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2006)