WITH just 28 branches in Hongkong and Macau, Wing Hang Bank is hoping expansion of its telephone banking services will provide a vehicle for growth.
Wing Hang Bank chief executive Patrick Fung said about 20 to 30 per cent of present transactions were conducted over the telephone, with clients able to check account balances, buy foreign currency, renew time deposits and order cheque books.
Later this year features such as stopping payments on cheques and cheque payment inquiries would probably be available, he said.
With Hongkong's property and labour costs climbing rapidly, telephone and automatic teller machines banking are viewed as an increasing important part of bank operations.
Mr Fung said Wing Hang's reliance on these services meant branch network expansion would be limited to one to two new offices a year in the 1990s.
Like many of its competitors, Wing Hang has turned its attention to China and hopes to complete the upgrade of its Shenzhen representative office to branch status by the end of the year.
Mr Fung said Wing Hang had indirectly benefited from the boom in southern China as many of its clients were entrepreneurs who had opened factories in the region.
