Author: Gill Baker
China's banking system faces the kinds of challenges being grappled with by bankers worldwide - except that the sheer size of its industry presents a new level of complexity. The analogy of the oil tanker that needs a lot of space and time to change course is particularly apt in China's case. And the task is made more daunting still by the need to get reform in place before World Trade Organization rules come into force, thereby opening up the market to a wave of international banks with massive experience and powerful brands.
The timeframe for the PRC's entry is still hazy, although most commentators are reckoning on the end of this year. Nevertheless it has focused the minds of bankers and regulators to a sufficient degree for a raft of new rules to be issued in an attempt to strengthen balance sheets and clean up institutions ready for the arrival of international competition.
There is not going to be a sudden takeover of the mainland's banking industry by foreign players. In the first two years of the WTO regime, banks will not be affected at all.