OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2013. VTB Bank’s Shanghai branch, the only Russian bank with a Chinese financial operation licence, has begun conducting transactions in Chinese yuan for corporate clients who are Chinese residents.

The bank has successfully completed its extensive preparations which included additional capitalisation and the obtaining of a new licence. The bank is now accepting deposits, issuing loans and conducting cash transactions in the yuan.

Until recently, the bank was required by Chinese banking market rules to use roubles or foreign currency.

The possibility of offering transactions in the yuan will extend the range of services VTB provides in China, which will promote growth in the local client base and in the volume of corporate business. Local currency transactions are especially important for units of Russian companies in China and for Chinese companies involved in Russian-Chinese trade. Until recently the Shanghai branch was focused on foreign trade operations and trade finance.

Transactions with the yuan will open up new opportunities for VTB in China, including servicing its clients’ operations in China involving local sales and purchases.