A ceremony to mark the signing of the Cooperative Agreement on Bank-Bank All-fast Counter Sevice between the Industrial Bank and Huishang Bank was held in Hefei on July 3, 2009. Attendees at the ceremony included President of the Industrial Bank Li Renjie, Board Chairman of Huishang Bank Wang Xiaoxi and President of Huishang Bank Li He.
According to reports, Huishang Bank is the 23rd bank in China to enter into a Cooperative Agreement on Bank-Bank All-fast Counter Sevice with the Industrial Bank, and is the first to do so in Anhui Province . Under the agreement, the Huishang Bank will gain access to resources at outlets of the Industrial Bank and the other 22 banks that have entered into agreements with the Industrial Bank. Specifically, personal banking clients of the Huishang Bank will be able to conduct business transactions such as depositing and withdrawing cash, making transfers and checking balances using their bank card (passbook) at these outlets. Likewise, clients of the Industrial Bank and the other 22 commercial banks can also conduct transactions over the counter at outlets of the Huishang Bank. All-fast Counter Sevice business under the Bank-Bank platform represents a highly effective way for small and medium sized banks to expand.
The Industrial Bank is devoted to becoming a professional provider of banking services for small and medium financial institutions. In 2005, the Industrial Bank first launched its Bank-Bank Platform for “networked cooperation and agency services among banks”. Through resource and channel sharing with cooperative banks and professional product support, the platform provides comprehensive financial service solutions for banks, including payment settlement, wealth management and technology management output. In the five years that have followed, the Bank-Bank Platform has gradually become a mutually beneficial financial service platform jointly developed, owned and shared by cooperative banks. Cooperative banks can participate in the Bank-Bank Platform to give full play to their own advantages, cooperate in inter-agency businesses and provide clients with more convenience in terms of outlet services and better overall financial service. The strengths of other banks work to compliment each other, leading to mutual benefit and development. As of the end of June 2009, the Bank-Bank Platform had 210 contracted small and medium bank clients and over 140 interconnected banks.
Huishang Bank is the first joint stock regional commercial bank in China to be born out of a merger between an urban commercial bank and an urban credit union. Since its establishment at the end of 2005, it has witnessed rapid and steady growth. The bank has gradually developed a means of development that is based on its own unique attributes, and is coming ever closer to becoming a modernized commercial bank. At present, the registered capital of the bank stands at RMB 8.174 billion, ranking first among China's city commercial banks. Following over three years of development, outlets of the Huishang Bank now cover 17 cities in Anhui Province, and its first branch outside of Anhui Province has been established in Nanjing. This marks the first trans-regional venture of the bank. Cooperating with the Industrial Bank will allow it to expand and increase its trans-regional development by utilizing the nationwide All-fast Counter Sevice settlement network of the Bank-Bank Platform. On the flipside, its addition will bolster the nationwide All-fast Counter Sevice settlement network of the Bank-Bank Platform. Thus, this is a mutually beneficial undertaking.