China’s largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has launched 50 new retail wealth management centres in the first stage...

China’s largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has launched 50 new retail wealth management centres in the first stage of an expansion which will see 2000 new centres opened by 2008. ICBC, which recently completed its $22 billion float – the world’s biggest yet - has opened the first of the new centres in China’s four most prosperous cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzen. The VIP wealth management centres will service ICBC’s Elite Club clients, comprising people with at least 200,000 yuan ($26,000) in deposits. ICBC is leveraging its 18,000 strong branch network to push into retail wealth management and to keep customers loyal to its brand in the face of expected new competition from foreign banks as restrictions are lifted on their activities in the local retail sector. In November ICBC said it had sold 60 billion yuan of wealth management products so far this year, due to the launch of new products and rising demand. ICBC’s stratgegy is to channel its deposit base into fee earning wealth management products. Revenue from wealth management last year was 1.9 billion yuan, only a fraction of the banks 12.4 billion yuan total fee and commission income.