ABSTRACT

Since the economic reform of the People’s Republic of China (China) was started in 1978, foreign multinational banks (hereinafter also referred to as foreign banks) have re-entered the Chinese banking market.1 However, the market penetration of foreign banks has followed a gradual process. Over the years, the total assets of foreign banks have represented around 2 per cent of the total assets of the whole Chinese banking sector (Leung and Chan, 2006).