Private Banks in China: Origin, Challenges and Regulatory Implications

In 2015, China started allowing qualified investors to set up privately funded commercial banks, which might be the largest change in China’s state-dominated banking sector in the recent decade. The privately-owned banks are said to break the monopoly of existing state-owned banks, as well as providing more loans to China’s money-starved entrepreneurs who are underserved by state-owned lenders. This article aims to introduce the latest development of privately-owned banks in China, and analyse some potential challenges faced by these newly established banks and the relevant regulatory issues.