China's leading banks to set up wealth management subsidiaries

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), both among China's largest lenders, announced Monday that they would establish subsidiaries focusing on wealth management business.

The wealth management subsidiary of ICBC will be established with a registered capital of 16 billion yuan (about 2.3 billion U.S. dollars), while the ABC one will have a registered capital of 12 billion yuan, the two companies said in separate statements filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

"The business scope the subsidiaries include public offering of wealth management products to the general public as well as private placement of wealth management products to eligible investors," the statements said.

The move followed similar announcements earlier this month by the country's two other large lenders, the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, to establish wealth management subsidiaries.

By setting up the subsidiary, ABC can realize the specialized operation of the wealth management business and better isolate risks, the bank said in the statement.