OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2013. Over the past few years ICBC sees robust growth in custody services, driven by the wider range of products and services offered to meet the market demand. Net assets under ICBC custody as of end of 2012 reached RMB 3.96 trillion, representing an increase of 12% from end of 2012. For 15 years in succession ICBC sits on top of the domestic league table. More worthy of note is that, while moving forward, ICBC as a committed custodian manages the funds under custody very efficiently, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

In 2012, ICBC maintained steady progress in providing custody services for securities investment funds, corporate annuity funds, insurance assets and other core businesses. The Banks remains as the No.1 custodian bank in China by heading the domestic ranking in terms of the number of customers and assets under custody. In 2012, ICBC had 51 new securities investment funds under the custody, adding the total to 282 at the end of the year. In providing custody services for insurance assets and corporate annuity funds, ICBC attracted more customers and retained its place at the top of the sector. On a worldwide basis, ICBC achieved leap-frog progress. Eleven qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) enrolled as new customers in 2012, adding the total to 37. ICBC had 300 QDII products with 110 new QDII products launched in the year.

In China's capital market, last year was a year dominated by fluctuations. Against this backdrop, ICBC adopted market-oriented approach and embraced innovation to launch a range of new custody products - bond funds for wealth management customers, first Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that can be traded in different stock exchanges, first seed fund, first OTC money market fund, first batch of gold ETF and first bond ETF. New products not only drive the business but also fill the market gap.

ICBC is the first bank in the country to roll out value-added custody services (performance evaluation, risk management) customized to the need of customers. Last year, ICBC ramped up its custody services through workflow reengineering. Front-office is the contact point for customers, while back-office is in charge of going through all procedures. All branches at home and abroad use standard procedures from marketing in the front-office to processing in the back-office. The improvement brings two benefits - faster services and better customer experience. Meanwhile, ICBC is building a sound and extensive network moving from the Head Office to its national branches and from local to global coverage. The 3-tier global service network covers Head Office, regional centers and local custodians, offering fast services to customers around the world in different time zones and markets.