Chinese bank becomes first to open on Swiss soil

Switzerland took an important step toward becoming a renminbi trading hub on Thursday with its inauguration of a new branch of the China Construction Bank, (CCB), one of the biggest financial institutions in the world.

The Zurich branch of the CCB has been authorised by China's central bank to operate as a clearing bank for renminbi transactions, helping establish cross-border activity and an offshore centre for the renminbi in Switzerland.

The president of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, China’s ambassador to Switzerland, Xu Jinghu, and a CCB executive vice president, Pang Xiusheng, were among the more than 200 guests on hand to open the first Chinese bank on Swiss soil.

The ceremony in Zurich coincided with a visit by Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter to Beijing, where he took part in a news conference on Friday with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to announce China's plans to step up its anti-corruption cooperation with Switzerland.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, granted a banking license for the branch office last year. It provides traditional commercial banking, but specialises in financial services for Chinese companies investing in Switzerland.

It also plans to offer wealth management, private banking and asset management, and to coordinate with the Swiss stock exchange on renminbi trading.

The CCB is one of China’s “big four” state-owned commercial lenders, which have been among the world’s most profitable, but have also seen their earnings growth slow as China’s fast expansion cools and the Communist Party introduces market forces into lending.

The bank had more than $2.7 trillion in assets as of the end of 2014.

The CCB was the first Chinese bank to receive a licence to offer commercial banking services and clear renminbi transactions in Switzerland.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

Trading in China’s currency, the renminbi, and Swiss francs, officially opened 9 November

Trading in China’s currency, the renminbi, and Swiss francs, officially opened 9 November, says the Swiss National Bank in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon:

“The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the Chinese central bank, has authorized direct trading between renminbi and Swiss francs on the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) with effect from 9 November 2015. The availability of a direct renminbi/Swiss franc exchange rate will help to reduce currency conversion costs for market participants. This will facilitate and promote the use of renminbi in cross-border transactions between companies and financial institutions. Direct trading between the currencies of China and Switzerland is an important step in strengthening bilateral financial and trading relations, and in establishing a renminbi hub in Switzerland. Prerequisites for the establishment of a renminbi hub in Switzerland are the renminbi swap agreement between the Swiss National Bank and the PBC, signed in July 2014, and the Memorandum of Understanding between the two central banks on further progress in China-Switzerland cooperation, signed in January 2015.”

Bloomberg reports that the move makes “the franc the seventh major currency that can bypass a conversion into the U.S. dollar and be directly exchanged for yuan. The rate will be allowed to fluctuate a maximum 5 percent on either side of a daily fixing, according to CFETS.”

The Financial Times reports today that “HSBC is to become a market-maker for trading the renminbi and the Swiss franc in the country’s interbank foreign exchange market. The bank, a long-standing advocate of the internationalization of the renminbi, is the only overseas bank that trades all the renminbi’s existing available currency pairs.”

КИТАЙСКИЙ СТРОИТЕЛЬНЫЙ БАНК ПРИХОДИТ В ШВЕЙЦАРИЮ

Китайский строительный банк (China Construction Bank, CCB) получил банковскую лицензию в Швейцарии. Конечная цель — открытие филиала в Цюрихе. До того, как один из крупнейших банков мира приступит к осуществлению коммерческой деятельности в Швейцарии и будет внесен в реестр юридических лиц, необходимо провести еще некоторую подготовительную работу, сообщила Федеральная служба надзора за финансовыми рынками Finma. По оценкам Китайского строительного банка, филиал в Цюрихе будет открыт до конца 2015 года.

Тот факт, что Китайский строительный банк открывает свое подразделение в Цюрихе, свидетельствует об укреплении позиций международного финансового центра Швейцарии. Через Китайский строительный банк в Цюрихе станут возможными трансакции с китайской валютой – юанем – непосредственно из Швейцарии.

Учитывая то, что Швейцария – единственная из европейских стран – имеет с Китаем договор о свободной торговле, для фирм, торгующих с китайскими контрагентами, открытие подразделения в Швейцарии станет наиболее выгодным способом экономии на таможенных пошлинах и валютных трансакциях.

Обращайтесь по вопросам частного банковского обслуживания (private banking), управления состоянием (wealth management) и за консультациями по вопросам защиты активов.
Благодаря многолетним деловым контактам с руководителями и собственниками ряда швейцарских банков, банковскими юристами и налоговыми консультантами я предоставляю экспертизу по вопросам любой степени сложности и путям реализации деловых и личных интересов прежде всего в Швейцарии. Вы можете связаться со мной по Skype - volkov71 или email: swissbankinginfo@bluewin.ch