Asiamoney Best Transaction Banks in China

China’s corporates are growing fast – both domestically and in the international markets. This has presented a unique set of challenges for the institutions that provide core banking services to them. Asiamoney presents China’s best banks in payments, cash management and trade and supply chain finance

In China’s banking sector, no other players would dream of building a physical business network as extensive as that of the state-owned giants. That is why Citic Bank has strived to build its competitive strength around electronic banking since its establishment in Beijing in 1987 – and has succeeded on that front.

Bank of China is the first domestic commercial bank to offer trade finance in China. It has led domestic peers in launching a wide range of trade-finance services, from factoring, forward exchange facilities, renminbi and foreign currency swaps to cross-border renminbi settlements.

Bank of Communications, the fifth-largest commercial bank in China by assets, stands out in China’s banking sector for the strong capability it has developed to serve supply chain finance clients.

Bank of China has the most extensive overseas network among Chinese banks and has achieved remarkable growth in its international cash management business.

One reason why China Merchants Bank stood out in the provision of transaction banking is its strength in cash management. In 2016, CMB recorded another year of robust and sustainable business growth in cash management.

Postal Savings Bank of China was spun off from state-owned postal service provider China Post Group in 2007. By employing modern technology and leveraging its extensive network in China’s rural areas and small cities, PSBC has become a powerhouse driving e-commerce growth in rural China with a full range of innovative payment products.

Transaction banking is something of a new discipline for Chinese commercial banks. Thanks to the rapid business restructuring it carried out, China Merchants Bank has set itself apart under general manager Zuo Chuanghong from its domestic peers by building the most efficient transaction banking operations among Chinese banks.