China Host to 4588 Banking Sector Financial Institutions, over 230,000 Physical Bank Branches

Official data indicates that there are currently over 4500 banking sector financial institutions operating in China.

The latest list of legal person banking sector financial institutions released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) indicates that as of the end of December 2018 the total number had increased by 39 compared compared to the previous year to hit 4588.

CBIRC licensing data further indicates that as of 11 February the number of physical bank branches registered throughout China was 228,600.

China has recently seen the number of big state-owned banks increase by one, with Postal Savings Bank of China joining the ranks of Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The number of joint-stock banks and municipal commercial banks remained unchanged last year, standing at 12 and 134 respectively.

China’s rural village commercial banks (农村商业银行) increased from 1262 in 2017 to 1427 in 2018, while rural county commercial banks (村镇银行) increased from 1562 to 1616 across the same timeframe.

Rural village cooperative banks, rural village credit societies and rural village mutual assistance societies all declined in number in 2018, falling by 3, 153 and 3 compared to the year previously.

2018 also saw China welcome two new foreign invested banks – Cathay United Bank and Chang Hwa Bank, and one new consumer finance company – Xiamen Jinmeixin Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. (厦门金美信消费金融有限责任公司), bringing the total number of foreign invested banks operating in China to 41.

Financial institution numbers for China from 2017 – 2018

Figures courtesy of National Business Daily