Red letter day for new bank

THE Shanghai branch of the China Postal Savings Bank was launched yesterday offering a full range of financial services.

The bank will work jointly with the city's 444 post office outlets. The lender has 387 ATM machines and 5.4 billion yuan (US$744.90 million) in client savings accounts in the city.

At present, fifty of its post office outlets accept US dollar savings business.

"With the establishment of the Shanghai branch, more post offices in the city will offer foreign currency services," said Hu Shiyun, a spokesman for Shanghai Post.

The branch also plans to expand foreign exchange services to include currencies such as the euro, yen and the pound.

Yang Wenxin, governor of the Shanghai branch of China Postal Savings Bank, said the establishment marked a substantial step in China's financial reform.

"With the postal network covering urban and rural areas, the bank will provide a comprehensive service to residents especially those living in rural areas," he said. "We aim to make it become the 'bank near everyone's home."'

So far 11.33 million local people have opened accounts in the postal savings bank of Shanghai.

The services postal savings branches in the city offer include handing out pensions to the elderly every month. To those over the age of 80, the post office delivers pensions to their home every month.

The postal savings bank, now China's fifth largest commercial bank in terms of deposits, completed registration on March 6 and launched its headquarters in Beijing on March 20 with a registered capital of 20 billion yuan.

The bank is a spin-off from the China Postal Bureau and received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission in December 2006.

The central government wanted to separate the bureau's banking business from its postal operations to prevent corruption and fraud.
The bank is expected to focus on retailing and intermediary businesses mainly in rural areas, where two-thirds of its outlets are based.

The China Postal Bureau started taking deposits in 1986. It has more than 352 billion yuan in assets, 260 million account holders and 70 million debit card holders.

The bank is expected to focus on retailing and intermediary businesses mainly in rural areas, where two-thirds of its outlets are based.

The China Postal Bureau started taking deposits in 1986. It has more than 352 billion yuan in assets, 260 million account holders and 70 million debit card holders.