Handelsbanken the first Nordic bank with a licence for business in Chinese currency
Handelsbanken has become the first Nordic bank in China to receive a licence to pursue banking operations in the Chinese currency, the renminbi (CNY).
"This means that we are the only Nordic bank in China that can offer corporate customers the full range of banking services in the local currency: from payment services and deposits and lending to guarantees and other types of financing instruments," says Michael Zell, head of Handelsbanken in China.
When the Chinese supervisory authority, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) awarded Handelsbanken the licence yesterday, it came after a long and very rigorous review procedure.
"The CBRC is very thorough. These licences are only given to banks with very stable finances. In this respect, the licence is naturally also a stamp of quality in a part of the world where Handelsbanken is not as widely known as on our domestic markets," says Michael Zell.
Handelsbanken's domestic markets are the Nordic countries and Great Britain. When the Bank's customers set up operations in countries outside this region, Handelsbanken is keen to assist them.
Handelsbanken became established in China as far back as 1982. Today it has branches in locations such as Beijing, Taipei and the Hong Kong S.A.R.
"Now that we have received the local currency licence, we have become a full service bank for our domestic market customers in China," says Johan Andrén, head of Handelsbanken in Shanghai.
For further information, please contact:
Michael Zell, head of Handelsbanken China: +852 - 690 07 712
Johan Andrén, head of Handelsbanken Shanghai: +86 - 138 184 886 22