Yucheng Technologies has signed a partnership agreement with China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA) to jointly launch an e-banking Application Service Provider (ASP) platform to serve city commercial banks and city/rural credit unions in China.

On March 19 Deutsche Bank announced that it had signed a binding agreement to subscribe to approximately 265.6 million newly issued shares in HuaXia Bank for a total subscription price of RMB 3,909 million (approx. EUR 349 million). Deutsche Bank’s subscription is part of a private placement of HuaXia Bank shares to its three largest shareholders with an overall issuance value of RMB 11.6 billion (approx. EUR 1.0 billion). Subject to regulatory approvals, this investment will increase Deutsche Bank’s equity stake in HuaXia Bank to 13.7% of issued capital from 9.9% previously.

UCBH Holdings, Inc. has announced the opening of United Commercial Bank (China) Limited (UCBC). United Commercial Bank (UCB), a subsidiary of UCBH Holdings, completed the acquisition of Business Development Bank Ltd. (BDB) in December 2007 and renamed it to UCBC, which now operates as a subsidiary of UCB. Headquartered in Shanghai, UCBC has branch in Shantou and representative offices in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Euroclear Bank is to significantly improve its operational service levels for clients located in the Asia-Pacific region. The service improvements, centred in Euroclear Bank’s Hong Kong office, will also benefit clients around the world that settle and hold Asia-Pacific securities at Euroclear Bank. Furthermore, Euroclear Bank will open a representative office in Beijing.

Western Union customers in Hong Kong can soon apply for small personal loans from PrimeCredit Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank PLC, following an agreement signed by the two companies to offer a pilot consumer lending program.

Deutsche Bank China, a wholly foreign-funded subsidiary bank solely owned by Deutsche Bank AG, has officially commenced operation in China from January 1, 2008.

Fortis is to sell its approximately 8.23% stake in ICBC (Asia) to ICBC, the parent company of ICBC (Asia), for a total consideration of around EUR 170 million. The sale is part of the plan to finance the acquisition of certain parts of ABN AMRO.

On 13 December HSBC Rural Bank opened for business in the Cengdu District of Suizhou City in Central China’s Hubei Province, establishing HSBC as the first international bank to enter China’s fast growing rural market.

UCBH Holdings, the holding company of United Commercial Bank (UCB) has completed its acquisition of Shanghai-based Business Development Bank Ltd. (BDB). The BDB name has changed to United Commercial Bank (China) Limited, which now operates as a subsidiary of UCB. This acquisition provides UCB with branches in Shanghai and Shantou, and representative offices in Beijing and Guangzhou. (Business Wire)

The HSBC has been named the successful bidder in a government auction to acquire The Chinese Bank in Taiwan. The acquisition will increase HSBC’s island-wide branch network from eight to 47, giving it a presence in all the major cities in Asia’s fourth biggest banking market.