Some overseas banks with rich expertise in handling individuals' financial affairs are determined to test the waters.

Last week, two Hong Kong-based banks, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HKBC) and the Hang Seng Bank (HSB), announced they would set up "Premier" centers and "Prestige" centers in mainland cities respectively.

Earlier, the CitiBank of the United States and the Standard Chartered Bank of Hong Kong established special desks for individuals' financial affairs in some mainland cities.

This indicates that overseas banks are eyeing the lucrative personal banking business in China, though they still have to wait for the authorities to lift restrictions in this field, according to some local experts.

Under the existing regulations, banks, securities dealers and insurance companies are not allowed to venture into each other's businesses.

So far, these overseas banks are handling personal financial affairs only for foreigners or people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

But overseas bankers believe they will be able to help local people make money with their savings and investments within a few years, as China step by step realizes the promises it made upon its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"For the time being, the HKBC is not able to help local clients make money by using its facilities in insurance, securities and investment fields," said Eddie Wong, president of HKBC China, in an interview with Xinhua.

"It's just a matter of time before the opening of 'private bank' business in China," Wong said, adding his bank's moves are aimed at attracting future clients in China.

"Everyone hopes he can handle all his financial affairs at one bank," said Andrew Wong, president of the HSB Great China, "We hope that the mainland will mix all the businesses within a short period."

At the HSB outlets in Shanghai, local clients can open a deposit account with only 10 US dollars and do not pay any service charge.

Currently, many local people are becoming increasingly interested in making money from savings and investments with the help of banks.

In a survey in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou by the China Social Affairs Investigation Agency, 74 percent of people interviewed showed interest, while 41 percent said they needed this kind of assistance from banks.

Another survey by the National Monitoring Center on Economic Performance found that 70 percent of people want to have a consultant to help them deal with their own financial issues.

Some local economists told Xinhua that the time was not ripe for allowing domestic financial institutions to mix their businesses, since it would require strong and experienced supervision by the government as well as high-quality personnel in the whole financial industry.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2002)