China Postal Savings Bank, which officially began operations yesterday as the nation's fifth-largest bank, plans to set up a network of outlets in the first half of the year.
The spin-off of the State Post Bureau, with registered capital of 20 billion yuan, intends to become a full-service bank, offering loans and investment opportunities overseas, according to a source within the bank who was at its low-profile launch ceremony yesterday.
The source said the lender intended to apply to become a qualified domestic institutional investor, which will allow it to invest overseas on behalf of account-holders who own some of the 1.6 trillion yuan it has in deposits.
Liu Andong, a former chief of the State Post Bureau, is the chairman of the new bank, while the president is Tao Liming, a former head of the new bank's predecessor, the China Postal Savings & Remittance Bureau.
Designed to cover the underserved rural areas, the bank should benefit immediately from its nationwide network of 36,000 post offices, of which more than 60 per cent are in the countryside.
One key concern cited by analysts is the bank's lack of lending experience, which could make it vulnerable to unexpected risk. China Postal Savings & Remittance Bureau, which traditionally received only deposits, began providing syndicated and small secured loans recently.