Editor's note: The Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China unveiled an ambitious set of economic reforms across almost all key areas. In the financial sector, 2014 could see a further appreciation of the renminbi, the widening of the daily trading band for dollar to yuan, the establishment of private banks and a flourishing Internet financing sector. Other important areas to watch include new rules on IPOs, preferred shares and cash dividends in the equity market, pilots for opening capital accounts in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the establishment of a Yunnan-Guangxi Border Area financial reform pilot program.

With opening up will also come consumer risks, analysts warn

Since China Minsheng Bank Corp became the first private bank in 1996, the government has not approved any others, although it has allowed a small amount of private capital to be invested in commercial banks. This will soon change as the government opens up the financial sector to private enterprises.