Overseas banks are speeding up the opening up of networks in China. Players like HSBC (which is the old Honkers and Shankers with a new style and life and gives us our illustration), Standard Chartered and BEA announced branch plans during the week.

Standard Chartered reports it has received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to establish its Hangzhou branch as its first branch in Zhejiang Province. It should take a few months but eventually the Hangzhou branch will provide full foreign currency services for all kinds of corporations, local residents, foreigners and permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

This expansion will extend Standard Chartered’s mainland network to 13 branches.

Meanwhile, Bank of East Asia has gained approval to prepare for setting up a branch in Tianjin which should open in the first part of next year. BEA also has approval to prepare for a branch in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province due to open this year.

Bank of East Asia opened a branch in Wuhan this month. That makes 14 branches it now has on the Chinese mainland.

HSBC Bank is extending its branch network in Central China, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta areas and now has obtained regulatory approval to set up a branch in Changsha, Hunan Province.

Worth noting that last week it was reported that the average waiting time for a customer in a bank was nearly one hour. Plainly this is about to change dramatically.
Source: Shanghai Daily

HSBC Bank (China) Co is extending its branch network in central China, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta areas to support its business expansion.

HSBC China has obtained regulatory approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to set up a branch in Changsha, Hunan Province. In addition, HSBC China has applied to establish a branch in Ningbo in the Yangtze River Delta area while its Dongguan branch in the Pearl River Delta area will open in the fourth quarter this year.

Its affiliate Hang Seng Bank also won approval to set up a branch in Ningbo. Overseas, it could be thought the HSBC is pulling in its horns. And, indeed, it has been under some criticism from the international financial press. In China, the reverse is the case.
Source: Shanghai Daily News