BEIJING, April 2 (UPI) -- Foreign banks, eyeing China's $3.89 trillion in household savings, are close to capturing some of the nation's booming demand for mortgages and other services.
The locally incorporated entities of four such banks are awaiting the completion of Chinese banking regulatory examination before offering local currency deposits and loan services to individual Chinese customers. Some analysts feel the service could start later this month.
The banks with local entities are Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC's Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp., Standard Chartered PLC and Bank of East Asia Ltd., reports the China Daily.
The approval from the regulators will allow the foreign lenders to offer full yuan services to their Chinese clients, including individuals. Previously, foreign banks were restricted to offering only foreign-currency services to individuals and providing both local and foreign-currency services to enterprises, the report said.
The four banks boast of more than 100 outlets on the Chinese mainland, the report said.
The competition among Chinese and the foreign lenders is expected to be mainly for mortgage lending, a major source of profit for domestic banks. The Chinese mortgage sector grew more than 43 times between 1998 and 2005, the report said.
