Australia and New Zealand Bank has been granted a licence to provide renminbi-linked financial services in China. 

The China Banking Regulatory Commission gave ANZ a Retail Renminbi licence, making it the first Australian bank to offer a range of RMB products and services to Chinese locals, the company said in a statement. 

This means that ANZ China, its locally incorporated subsidiary, will now be able to provide all retail customers with local currency deposits, mortgages, bancassurance and wealth management products and services. The move complements ANZ's existing RMB deal for its local corporate clients. 

"The number of high net worth and affluent customers in China is growing rapidly and we see great potential to provide our global product and service expertise, and provide support by expanding our China network with a new sub-branch in Guangzhou in 2012," said Gilles Plante, chief executive for Asia and chairman for ANZ China. 

ANZ has a network of branches and sub-branches in the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, which have a combined gross domestic product of $5.3 trillion. The bank is also expanding its offshore RMB capabilities for corporate and commercial clients, partnering with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for cross-border trade transactions. 

According the bank's recently released "Internationalisation of the RMB" handbook, trade-induced RMB deposits will grow to RMB516 billion ($82 billion) by December 2012, while total offshore RMB deposits may reach RMB901 billion ($143 billion).