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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation's No. 1 lender, has announced that it will impose fees on savings accounts whose balances fall below 300 yuan (US$37.50) in late June as part of measures to slash costs.

 

The announcement, unveiled on the same day that rival Bank of China (BOC) started imposing similar fees on low-balance, or small, accounts, marked a change because the country's biggest lenders are looking to beef up profitability, analysts said.

 

Starting on June 21, ICBC will charge 3 yuan a quarter on accounts with balances of less than 300 yuan, said a corporate statement. No fee will be imposed on individual savings accounts used to pay consumer loans or credit expenses, it said.

 

ICBC and BOC are speeding up moves to improve management and profit, reduce distressed loans as well as to finalize strategic investors as both plan to launch initial public offerings this year.

 

Analysts said charging fees can help cut the number of idle accounts and help banks better allocate resources.

 

BOC, the nation's second-biggest bank, charged 3 yuan per quarter starting yesterday on accounts of less than 500 yuan in Beijing and those of less than 300 yuan in Shanghai.

 

The Beijing-based lender is expected to raise US$8 billion from its IPO in Hong Kong as early as June, ahead of ICBC's planned US$10 billion share flotation also in the second quarter.

 

China Construction Bank, the No. 3 lender which raised US$9.2 billion in October in Hong Kong, has been charging a fee on personal savings accounts with balances of less than 500 yuan since August.

 

China Merchants Bank has said it would start on April 1 to charge 1 yuan a month on checking accounts with balances of less than 10,000 yuan.

 

The bank is in the process of seeking a listing in Hong Kong this year.

 

Chinese financial authorities have been stepping up moves to urge major mainland-headquartered banks to restructure and shore up capital before the country fully opens the industry to overseas competitors by the end of this year.

 

Regulators also are encouraging commercial banks, now relying heavily on interest-based revenue, to diversify into fee-based intermediary businesses such as asset management products and credit card services.

 

(Shanghai Daily March 21, 2006)