Banks see cross-border yuan business surge

The yuan-denominated cross-border business of two major Chinese banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and Bank of China Ltd - surged in 2012 as global demand for the currency increased.

Cross-border yuan business conducted by ICBC's domestic and overseas branches exceeded 1.5 trillion yuan ($238.91 billion) in 2012, up nearly 70 percent year-on-year, the world's largest commercial bank by market value said on Wednesday.

Overseas institutions contributed half of the volume, it said.

"In some branches, the yuan business even accounted for one-third or half of the assets, deposits and revenue," the bank said.

By the end of 2012, ICBC's yuan-clearing network had spread to nearly 70 countries and regions, it said, adding that all overseas branches have started to process yuan-denominated cross-border services.

Meanwhile, BOC - a key Chinese player in terms of promoting global business in yuan - said on Tuesday that its domestic branches conducted 1.2 trillion yuan worth of cross-border business last year, up 54 percent year-on-year, giving the bank a market share of more than 30 percent.

BOC's 24 overseas branches and subsidiaries processed 1.26 trillion yuan in such business during the same period, up 29 percent from the previous year.

As of Tuesday, BOC's total cross-border settlements in yuan had exceeded 4.6 trillion yuan, it said.

ICBC said that the cross-border yuan business among commercial banks last year was strongly spurred by broadened international monetary cooperation and the sound development of the offshore renminbi market.

The broad global use of the yuan in 2012 will further promote lenders' enthusiasm to develop their yuan business in the coming years, said Guo Tianyong, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.

In 2012, cross-border trade settlements in yuan rose 41 percent year-on-year, while investments settled in the currency surged 153 percent year-on-year, data from the People's Bank of China showed.

But yuan transactions in the United States declined 38 percent in December compared with November, making 2012 a flat year in terms of the use of the Chinese currency in the world's largest economy, the global transaction services company Swift said on Wednesday.

An index measuring the yuan's global use rebounded in November, supported by the progress of offshore yuan deposits, dim sum bond issuance, and trade settlement volumes in the currency, Standard Chartered Bank said on Monday.

StanChart said the growth would continue as confidence in China's economy and yuan appreciation remains in place.

On Wednesday, the yuan closed up after the central bank raised its daily fixing rate for the currency for the first time this week.

The spot yuan closed at 6.2180 versus the US dollar in Shanghai trading, up from Tuesday's 6.2198.

The yuan's reference rate set by the People's Bank of China went up 0.05 percent to 6.2762 against the US dollar on the day. The yuan is allowed to trade up or down as much as 1 percent on either side of the reference rate.

wangxiaotian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/24/2013 page16)