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)