China's Postal Savings Bank Opens For Business In Beijing

Postal Savings Bank of China opened for business Tuesday in Beijing, allowing the country’s fifth-largest bank by deposits to expand its lending after years of being the deposit-taking arm of the state postal service. The bank, which has a network of 36,000 outlets attached to the postal network, is fully owned by China Post Group. The State Council, China’s highest administrative body, created China Post Group in August by separating the business and regulatory functions of the country’s postal system. In a statement published in government-backed newspapers and on its Web site, Postal Savings Bank said: “We will rely on and make full use of the postal savings network to improve our ability to provide financial services to cities and the countryside.” The China Banking Regulatory Commission has said the bank should focus on lending to rural clients. The CBRC allowed the bank to begin trial lending projects last year.