POSTAL Savings Bank of China launched in Beijing and is the country's fifth biggest lender in terms of assets. The bank is a spin-off from the China Postal Bureau that received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission in December.

The central government wanted to separate the bureau's banking business from its postal operations. The move is part of a plan to split commercial businesses from government bodies to prevent corruption and fraud after the nation fully opened its financial markets to overseas investors in December. The bank is expected to focus on retailing and intermediary businesses.

The China Postal Bureau started taking deposits in 1986. It has more than 352 billion yuan of assets, 260 million account holders and 70 million debit card holders. The deposits are held by the People's Bank of China, the central bank. About two-thirds of China Postal Savings Bank's branches are in rural areas.

The bank completed registration on March 6, with total registered capital of 20 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion), the Shanghai Securities News reported earlier.

Source:佚名