ICBC Recommends Customers to Timely Merger Small RMB Personal Demand Deposit Accounts

ICBC made an announcement on Oct. 18 to recommend all Customers to timely merger or cancel those long-standing and repeated Small RMB Personal Demand Deposit Accounts (including Savings books, debit cards), in particular, accounts with average daily deposit balance (sum of daily deposit balances within a quarter divided by the number of depositing days) less than 300 RMB.

For many reasons, Commercial Banks in China all have a large assembly of small deposit accounts, problems are eminent. Holding a number of small deposit accounts is convenient and insecure for customer, while Bank has to spend huge amount of fund to maintain these accounts. Not only this will waste social resources, but also cause heavy burden on Bank's computer system. To a great extent, this will hinder Commercial Bank to further improve efficiency and level of services.

Therefore, it is a move of several gains if customer can timely merger or cancel those long-standing and repeated Small RMB Personal Demand Deposit Accounts. Customer can eliminate the trouble of keeping many savings books or debits cards. Funds in these idle accounts can be collected again to effectively improve the efficiency of using the fund.

Currently, ICBC's Debit Card already has many comprehensive functions. Customers can enjoy now many diversified financial services without holding a bevy of savings books or bank cards. Bank can now effectively make savings in computer system's resources, improve operation efficiency and efficiency and level of services when serving the customers.

During merger of small accounts, ICBC do not "One Cut does all" but give preferential treatment for those customers whose accounts are necessary yet with small amount according to situation. Following 11 types of accounts, which are closely related to customers' living and work are not included in the consolidation at this moment.

These accounts include Demand Savings Account in Elite Club; Peony Traffic Card account; Savings Accounts for Repaying Personal Loan; Multi-currencies Accounts with Balances in Foreign Currencies Account (RMB-Foreign Exchanges All-in-one Account. Peony International Debit Card, Foreign Exchanges trading account); Peony quasi Credit Card, Peony Credit Cared, Peony International Card Account; Savings Account for Payment-on-behalf of Low-insurance; Savings Accounts for Payment-on-behalf of Social Security (Pension Fund Account and Pension Security, Unemployment Security, Medical Security Account); Accounts Used for Buying Fund and RMB Financial Products, Billing Bond account, Bank-Insurance Link Account, Accounts of Bank-Securities Link and Transfer; account for payroll payment and accounts that used for payment of water, power, gas and telephone by batch; housing provident fund account, e-Card account of Personal e-banking.

ICBC remind customers to clear ICBC accounts (savings and bank cards) thoroughly in order to improve efficiency and avoid mistakes. Use of every account should be closely verified to ensure merged or cancelled accounts are not included in the above-mentioned 11 types.

ICBC launched two conveniently measures to help customer merge small deposit accounts. First, customer can go to any ICBC Business Offices in the city where the account is opened to merge or cancel the accounts. ICBC will arrange dedicated services window and personnel at our utmost to provide fast and convenient services for our customers to shorten their waiting time.

Second, till before June 20, 2006, customers who report the loss of Small RMB Demand Deposit Accounts (Savings, debit cards or password) with balance less than RMB 300 to ICBC Business Offices will have their handling fee free of charge.

Some time before, Banking Regulatory Department has confirmed Commercial Bank to collect management fee for small deposit accounts. It recognized that this is an exploratory move for Commercial Bank to optimize accounts portfolio through pricing. It has significant implications in improving financial services level and utilization efficiency of social resources, in encouraging healthy development of state-owned Bank, in helping people to manage their money and in improving financial ecology.

Now, some Commercial Banks have started to collect management fee for small deposit accounts, which is an active move to improve Banks' management standard. ICBC will also reference other Banks' practices to consider choosing an appropriate time to collect management fee from Small RMB Personal Demand Deposit Accounts on accounts of the consolidation progress under reasonable and legal procedures.

ICBC spokesman reiterated that ICBC will not collect fee because of it has to collect fee. Its ultimate aim is to guide customers the thoughts in managing their money, to highly efficient and reasonable to manage bank accounts and to improve financial operation efficiency and service level. Thus, ICBC reserved ample time for customer to merge their invalid small accounts. ICBC also developed dedicated computer system to ensure small accounts merger are smoothly and effectively run.

Answers to Questions of Correspondents on Merger of Small Accounts