OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2011. In March 2008, ICBC was the first commercial bank in China to obtain a private banking license. Since then, ICBC has taken the market opportunity of the fast growth of personal wealth in China and pushed aggressively on the innovation of private banking services. The Bank looks at ways in moving forward private banking in China and has been recognized by the market in delivering professional services to high-net-worth customers, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

ICBC has deep understanding on the local customers, their views on wealth, their philosophy on life, said an executive with ICBC. In serving private banking customers, the top priority is to understand the requirements of the customers. Different types of private banking customers (private business owners, senior executives, professional investors and social elites) have different requirements. Based on the risk-income preference and the type of asset they have, ICBC offers asset portfolio management and total solutions. Under an asset management strategy of "core investment + satellite product", ICBC provides three large ranges of private banking products covering asset management, advisory service and agency service. ICBC reaffirms the principle of "understanding first, suggestion later, strategy first, investment later" to take in-depth understanding on the requirements of the customers and gauge risk level they can shoulder against their investment, helping customers avoid blind investment without any plan or objective.

Another major advantage of ICBC is the consolidated Group services. Private banking customers are looking for personalized services, services different from all others. In light of this, ICBC works on two fronts. One area is to move faster in the development of exclusive private banking products, focusing on the innovation in equity investment, structured products, QDII, PE investment and alternative investment. The other area is to be the "solution provider" offering a basket of services including investment and financing. The objective is to shift from "sell product" to "offer solution", establish a service system that is related to customers' family business and career, and help customers achieve their objective, protect their wealth, increase the asset value and pass the wealth for their generation to come. ICBC Private Banking services also include many value-added services such as health management, high-level forum, golf competition platform, cultural activities, theme study, professional news, consultancy and advisory, overseas assistance, all are spanking services for ICBC private banking customers.

After three years of development, ICBC is leading the pack by securing more than 18,000 private banking customers with over RMB 350 billion of assets under management. Besides the headquarters, ICBC Private Banking has set up divisions in ten cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Jinan, Zhengzhou and Chengdu) covering major economic regions in China. The vast network of ICBC outlets nationwide also underscores ICBC's advantages in serving private banking customers. Worthy of note is that, ICBC Private Banking Department has a team of 400 professional staffs who are experienced in personal banking, corporate banking, international finance, and asset management. Around 70% of the staffs in the team hold professional certification. They are Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Associate Financial Planner (AFP), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), who are well qualified to provide all-inclusive, professional services to customers.

The ICBC executive said, with the fast and healthy growth of China's economy and the rising number of riches, the wealth management service to high-net-worth customer in China is a market of great potential. Looking ahead, the future of private banking business is extremely good. The next move of ICBC is to concentrate to draw experience from overseas in asset management, study the global market, and establish a scheme to allocate all global assets to better serve the wealth management requirement of private banking customers, backed by the ICBC's Group strength.