New Office

Italian Bank Gains Approval For A Full Branch In Guangzhou

Vanessa Doctor Asia Correspondent 1 March 2012

Italian Bank Gains Approval For A Full Branch In Guangzhou

UniCredit, the Italian bank, has received the go signal to transform its Guangzhou representative office into a full branch.

The approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission now gives the Italian firm two offices operating as full-fledged branches, with the other in Shanghai. UniCredit also has an agency office in Beijing.

The new branch will be led by Jonathan Lim, who has worked at the Shanghai branch for the past two years. The Guangzhou office will initially offer services in foreign currency, including deposits, short, medium and long term loans, and trading of bonds and financial securities. Guangzhou is the capital of the southeastern Guangdong province and recorded a gross domestic product of $655 billion in 2010, making it a fit location for a full branch, the firm said in a statement.

"China represents the most appealing country with a potential of 500 million consumers but is the most complex one for European companies to approach. Many of our European clients are already working in China," commented Federico Ghizzoni, chief executive.

UniCredit has one of the biggest banking networks in Europe with around 10,000 branches. It offers assistance to Chinese clients who work or wish to develop their business in Europe.

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