Since the launch of the private banking business in 2008, ICBC has taken the opportunities arising from the rapid development of the wealth management market in China to boost operation transformation and service innovation, gradually establishing the leadership in the industry. As at the end of 2015, the number of the high net-worth customers of ICBC private banking exceeded 62,000 with 20,000 new customers in the year, and customers’ assets under management rose above RMB 1 trillion. ICBC has repeatedly won awards of the “Best Private Bank in China” from global professional media such as the British magazine The Banker, Global Finance, Finance Asia and The Asset.

According to ICBC, its private banking business has experienced two stages of development. During the first period from 2008 to 2013, the Bank focused on learning the best practices of domestic and international asset management institutions. In 2013, ICBC private banking business began the transformation featuring bank-wide expert-based operation. Within a few years, the number of personnel in the professional service teams has increased to 4,000 and the private banking business extended to all domestic branches other than in Tibet. Meanwhile, the private banking headquarter is transformed into a product center exploring new modes for service management and business organization. In the process of transformation, ICBC private banking has shifted from product sales to product service, becoming customer-oriented with focus on providing customized services. It has continued to expand investment management capacity and build the MOM (Manager of Managers) mode for investment management, with wealth assets under management exceeding RMB 800 billion, meeting customers’ needs for all-market, all-product and all-duration asset allocation.

In addition, by leveraging ICBC’s global service network, ICBC private banking provides cross-border private banking services, which helps optimize allocation of customers’ assets worldwide. Currently, ICBC private banking has set up a service network with teams in 21 countries and territories, covering major economies in the world. At the end of 2014, “ICBC Private Banking Global Investment Fund -- SIF” was approved by the monetary authority of Luxembourg, making it the first overseas private equity platform established by a Chinese bank. It marks the emergence of ICBC private banking on the global stage.

Ma Jian, General Manager of ICBC Private Banking Department, pointed out that the new brand proposition of ICBC private banking is to accompany the growth of the wealthy Chinese as a partner, adding that “the integration of investment and finance, domestic and international institutions, corporate and private business are the unchanged philosophy of ICBC private banking service. “We will continue to build an expert team and adhere to the “big retail” strategy, innovative development and global resource integration,” he said, “we will not limit ourselves in the domestic market. To be a world-class private bank is the target of ICBC’s private banking.”