In 2008, ICBC shook off the fallout of capital markets volatility and maintained momentum in steady and healthy development of assets trusteeship. With the net worth of assets under custody around RMB1.1438 trillion, ICBC had proven itself as the sole custodian bank managing assets exceeding RMB1 trillion at the end of 2008, a leader in this area for 11 consecutive years. Meanwhile, ICBC ranked No. 1 in securities investment funds, corporate annuities funds, insurance assets and other forms of trusteeship.
According to the bank executives, the outperformance, first of all, contributed to close follow up to macroeconomic dynamics, timely strategic alignments, improved product and service quality and optimized business mix. 2008 witnessed the addition of 25 new securities investment funds for custody while un-trusted funds amounted to 107 by the end of this year.
As for insurance assets, ICBC has not only increased its partnership but also explored in investment-type products, infrastructure and other new areas, thus further entrenching its already competitive position. In the global custodian market, ICBC pulled off leapfrog in 2008 by acquiring QFII qualifications for 7 clients, 4 of whom have got a USD 650 million credit of line.
By the end of 2008, ICBC had won approval for signing up 11 QFII clients while it had claimed almost a half of the QDII market share.
Secondly, driven by market shifts and client demands, ICBC has been pushing innovation to boost effective responsiveness and business development. In March 2008, CSRC officially gave the green light to fund managers to provide separately managed account (SMA) services. As a result, ICBC became the first bank embarking on this business in China.
By the end of 2008, ICBC had completed nearly 40 SMAs with 10-plus fund managers, well ahead of peers in market share. At the same time, ICBC made significant trial runs in trust assets and securities investment, and took new steps in promoting payment accounts, industry funds and other innovative products in branches.
Moreover, the cutting-edge high-tech system and rigorous risk controls in ICBC have ensured steady and rapid progress in assets custody. In fact, ICBC is the only commercial bank boasting a proprietary custody business system in China. The one in use now is the fourth-generation financial management and evaluation system which enables both old and new international accounting principles.
It serves as a technologic buttress towards inter-modal operation between and among a myriad of accounting rules, markets, evaluation methods and financial statements. In 2008, ICBC built a direct link between assets custody and forex trading center data. It set up a processing platform for cashflow monitoring and guarantee payment to meet requirements from different types of clients.
Meanwhile, ICBC got the 2007 SAS70 report without reservation from a renowned international accounting firm. The audit results released by this authority attested to the fact that ICBC has been brought up to world-class standards in terms of internal controls with regard to assets custody.
The outstanding service quality of ICBC has also been spoken of very highly by institutions and media both at home and abroad. In 2008, it won the yearly award for "The Best Custodian Bank in China", jointly accorded by The Asset, Global Finance, Global Custodian, and Securities Times and the Excellence in Contribution Award at the 10th Anniversary Ceremony of the Chinese fund industry. In addition, ICBC in 2008 was honored with the Best Innovation Award, a subset of the Securities & Futures Science and Technology Award, the only one bestowed by the Securities Association of China to a non-broker dealer for its centralized custodian projects undertaken.
