Retail banks keep talking about improving ‘customer experience’ to satisfy their clients. Yet the rapid rise in banking businesses operating within this space combined with the pressure exerted from the internet finance sector, has seen the meaning of this often mentioned term become broader gradually.

This Report tries to answer this question by looking into the usage behaviours and attitudes of Chinese consumers, especially those who are responsible for the management of household disposable incomes. The total market situation and the product/service innovations of market leaders are also discussed.

Retail banking is defined as a provision of banking services by banks to individual consumers, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks.

For the purpose of this Report, the following services of retail banks are included:

• Savings and transactions

• Debit card and credit card services

• Personal loans and mortgages

• Financial advisory and wealth management services

State-owned commercial banks are commercialised state operating banks based on the Commercial Bank Law introduced by the Chinese government back in 1995, eg Bank of China.

Joint-equity commercial banks are non-state-owned banking institutions controlled by business corporations or local governments, eg China Merchants Bank.

City commercial banks are the third important group of Chinese banking market. They are usually established on the basis of urban credit cooperatives, eg Bank of Jiangsu.

• Financial services provided by investment banks including but not limit to capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, issuance of securities etc.

• Commercial banking or wholesale banking services.