A new report on foreign banks in China points to growth of over 4% in their total assets in 2019.
The “Report on the Growth of Foreign Invested Banks in China (2019)” (在华外资银行发展报告（2019年)) recently released by the China Banking Association indicates the total assets of foreign invested banks in China reached 3.48 trillion yuan (approx. USD$520.27 billion) as of the end of 2019, for YoY growth of 4.13%.
Foreign invested banks in China posted net profits of 21.613 billion yuan in 2019, while as of the end of 2019 972 foreign banks from 55 countries had operating institutions in China.
Yi Gang (易纲), the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), highlighted the external opening of the Chinese financial sector as a core strategy of the country’s future development at the 2020 Bund Summit in Shanghai on 24 October.
The fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CCP held on 26 – 29 October also indicated that financial opening will be a core part of the 14th Five Year Plan, scheduled to run from 2021 to 2025.
