Ping An OneConnect Bank
Ping An OneConnect Bank is not an obvious choice for the award for best bank for small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong. It only launched in September 2020, after receiving a virtual banking licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in May 2019. So it still has limited scale compared with traditional banks with a longer track record of operating in the city.
However, its rapid growth since its establishment, its targeted focus on SMEs, and its determination to offer the best – and most cost-effective – banking options to clients, make it a worthy winner of this award.
Ping An OneConnect Bank, led by chief executive Ryan Fung, has achieved several firsts in the SME space. It is the first virtual bank specializing in SME banking services. It was the first bank in Hong Kong to offer document-free loans for SMEs, shortening the lengthy approval process for funding. And it was the first virtual bank to use an alternative credit-scoring model for clients, approved by the HKMA and the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation.
With this model, the firm can see the pattern of customer transactions and their asset quality, allowing it to be nimbler in its lending decisions.
By