Private Banks

Huishang Bank opens wealth management unit

Huishang Bank, one of the largest urban commercial banks in China, has been revealed to have launched a wealth management subsidiary.

According to a Private Banker International article, the Bank received regulatory approval for its subsidiary to begin wealth management operations in late-2019, and the new unit will trade under the name Huishang Bank Wealth Management Co.

The new unit is reportedly registered in Hefei, the capital and largest city of the Chinese province of Anhui.

In addition to Huishang Bank, entities such as China Everbright Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank of China, Construction Bank of China, Postal Saving Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Hangzhou, and Bank of Ningbo have also received regulatory clearance to enact wealth management services.

According to the article, this comes as part of China’s efforts of liberalisation in the financial services sector, with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) allowing domestic Chinese wealth management subsidiaries to buy shares, as well as introducing measures which opened the Chinese securities market to foreign entities.

In April 2020, China eliminated foreign ownership restrictions in both the fund management and securities businesses; these changes stem from the first phase of the China-US trade deal.

The Bank recently took over four branches from Baoshang Bank as part of a government-led restructuring initiative, according to an article by Yuan Talks, investing potentially over USD518 million in a new provincial commercial bank.

Huishang Bank reportedly lost approximately CNY6 billion in interbank deposits at Baoshang Bank in 2019, with Huishang subsequently stating that said losses “only a limited impact on the bank’s operations.”