Article at a glance:
Foreign banks have a golden opportunity to tap into the Chinese banking market by targeting affluent customers, who are easy to reach and poorly served by domestic banks. While accounting for only 2 percent of all customers in China, they generate more than half of retail banking's profits, and their importance will grow as the Chinese market for personal financial services takes off in the next ten years.
The take-away
Partnerships with Chinese players are essential for marketing mutual funds, life insurance, and credit cards. But foreign banks should build their own branch networks in China's coastal cities, where the most affluent people live, to build up their brands and position themselves for future opportunities.
This article includes the following exhibits:
- Exhibit 1: Forecast earnings by source for China's banking sector, 2003–13
- Exhibit 2: China's forecast banking revenues by type of product