May 4, 2010 Source: CBN Daily
In March 2010, a signing ceremon y for bank-bank platform cooperation between the Industrial Bank and Fujian Rural Credit Cooperatives Union was held in Fuzhou. At present, a total of 219 cooperating agencies have signed to the Industrial Bank's Bank-Bank Platform, covering more than 10,000 network outlets, or 20 times the number of outlets that the Industrial Bank operates.
Based on the Bank-Bank Platform, a mode of inter-bank cooperation, the Industrial Bank completed 2.61 million settlement transactions over the Bank-Bank platform, representing a settlement amount of RMB 71.031 billion Yuan, up 356.63％ over the previous last year; it sold RMB 51.47 billion Yuan in financial management products to cooperative banks, up 231.47％ over the previous year and securing the bank RMB 101 million Yuan of revenue from financial management products in 2009.
Covering eight major business segments
As one of the three major distinctive inter-bank business services of the IB (the other two being Bank-Security Alliance and Bank-Trust Alliance), the Bank-Bank Platform is a specialized agency platform established by the IB with the purpose of facilitating mutual agent transactions between banking and financial institutions.
According to Mr. Zheng Xinlin, GM of the Inter-bank Business Dept of the IB, the Industrial Bank has been engaged in banking business for the capital market since 1996, and was one of the first commercial banks to offer banking services for the capital market in the country. In 2001, IB became the first bank to establish an Inter-bank Business Department. The department endeavors to offer professional banking services for small and medium-sized financial institutions and the capital market on the basis of extensive cooperation, sincere service, professional operation and innovative development. In December 2007, IB established a Bank Alliance Service Center in Shanghai and set about creating a new and unique development approach to inter-bank cooperation, which gradually became IB's leading brand: the Bank-Bank Platform.
The industrial Bank's Bank-Bank Platform mainly serves urban commercial banks, urban credit cooperatives, rural commercial banks, rural credit cooperatives and township banks, forming a comprehensive portfolio of financial service solutions that cover eight major categories, namely: payment settlement, wealth management, technology output, financing service, foreign currency agency, optimization of capital and structure of assets and liabilities, fund application and training and exchange.
In Mr. Zheng's opinion, the Bank-Bank Platform has transcended the traditional mode in which competition is more commonplace than cooperation among banks. By utilizing its own advantages as a mover, the platform is aiming at helping medium and small banks to modernize their operation and management, enrich products lines and increase their market competitiveness, so as to usher in a new era of interdependence, mutual benefit and common development.
Mr. Zheng said:“Differing from the traditional operating modes of other commercial banks, IB's Bank-Bank Platform has identified small and medium sized banks as a client base for sales and services, and has redefined management, technology and business processes as products that can be output. This way it provides comprehensive service solutions to banks it cooperates with. It has not only created a new area of business, but also represents a bold effort in attempts to transform modes of business growth and profit. The bank is aiming to become a professional provider of banking services for medium and small financial institutions”.
Focus on township banks this year
In recent years, IB has continued to launch various innovative products under the banner of its Bank-Bank Platform, and has constantly extended the service network. It has formed a mode of development in which inter-bank integrated cooperation form the main body whereas payment settlement, wealth management portals and technology output are the focal points.
In particular, as the first and only commercial bank in the industry to output its core business management technologies to other banks, the IB has successfully completed the construction of banking information systems for nine commercial banks, all of which have gone online. According to data from the IB, the bank achieved RMB 32,570,000 Yuan in revenue from technology output in 2009, representing a rise of more than 250.22% over 2008.
In 2010, IB will focus on the provision of comprehensive financial solutions for township banks and make efforts to provide basic technological and online settlement support for rural financial institutions so as to enhance the quality and level of rural financial services.
According to Mr. Zheng, at present, IB has offered IT support and access to payment systems for several township banks, which has been highly praised by a number of local bank regulatory authorities and has been met with a positive community response and economic effectiveness.
“So we can say, the Bank-Bank Platform has become one of the significant approaches for the IB to actualize differential operation and sustainable development, to establish a harmonious financial environment and to perform its corporate social responsibilities”, Mr. Zheng added.
Mr. Zheng indicated that following several years of efforts, the development scope and business channels of IB's Bank-Bank Platform have expanded on a continual basis. At the end of 2009, there were 151 end-users on IB's Bank-Bank Platform, completing more then 2,600,000 settlement transactions throughout the year, with the settlement amount exceeding RMB 250 billion Yuan, while products include pass counter business, mutual pass counter service, payment system agency access, agency credit card payment and agency precious metals transaction. It has established the business channels of counter business of outlets and networked banks, bank-bank online banking services, and will gradually actualize the interconnection among the channels of telephone (mobile) and the third bank payment.
In addition to inter-bank cooperation, IB has credentials for various innovative businesses in the field of Bank-Security Alliance and Bank-Trust Alliance, forming a complete product and service system, professional teams and an extensive client base, enabling it to offer professional and highly-efficient services according to the different demands of various financial institutions.
At the end of 2009, the bank was cooperating with 88 online security traders for third-party custody, covering all of the leading domestic security traders, with the total number of clients for third-party custody and the total amount of funds steadily increasing. Meanwhile, the Industrial Bank was one of the first commercial banks to conduct RMB trust financing business, having established business relationships with 46 trust companies. Products such as trust financing and agency of trust receipt and payment have been developing rapidly. Recently, IB also launched cash management services for financial companies so as to help enterprises to actualize centralized cash management and maximize gains from capital.
Moreover, based on a strategic approach to the development of inter-bank business characterized by “wide-ranging and professional”, IB has widely developed relations with financial institutions such as insurance companies, financial lease companies, fund management companies, futures companies and auto-finance companies to leverage their unique capabilities, compliment one another and achieve mutual benefit.
After years of collaboration and expansion, IB's inter-bank business has become a recognized brand and a leader affirmed by both the industry and the market. In 2009, IB was awarded at the 2009 Asian Banker Leadership Achievement Awards held by renowned financial magazine The Asian Banker with the “The Asian Banker Achievement Award for Payment Services to Banks and Corporations” (Great China region), the “Best Asian Bank for Inter-bank Business” at the Fourth 21st Century Asian Finance Annual Meeting (market, information and reviews), and the “Top Ten Financial Products Award” of the “China Finance Marketing Awards” by the Banker magazine.