Deutsche Bank keeps pace with Chinese economy(2)

Foreign banks profitable

According to research released in July by Ernst & Young, from 2010 to 2011, the 181 foreign banks in China saw their overall profit double from 7.78 billion yuan ($1.23 billion) to 16.73 billion yuan, driven primarily by the rising corporate demand for credit supplies.

Also in 2011, foreign bank-owned assets were worth a total of 2.15 trillion yuan, Ernst & Young reported.

In a comparative study of 12 foreign banks, the domestic Investor Journal said Deutsche Bank delivered the strongest performance - over 90 percent profit growth from the previous year.

There were foreign banks that reported no growth, or even a decline in business.

Foreign banks in China usually stay away from the mass retail market and concentrate on services for corporate clients, including corporate banking, trade financing and interest rate hedging.

Ruebbert knows that the number of companies involved in trade between Germany and China remains "very high".

Bilateral trade between the two totaled about $180 billion in 2011, nearly double five years ago. And China aims to boost that figure to $280 billion in 2015.

Private wealth management is another area where Deutsche Bank (China) has seen a considerable rise in business, and Ruebbert says he plans to continue that growth.

But it still has some catching up to do.

The UK-based HSBC Holdings Plc, for instance, already claims to have set up 24 regional branches and more than 100 outlets across the Chinese mainland.

Ruebbert's plan is for more branch offices, possibly in places that would help the bank spread its services more evenly in eastern and western locations.

Germany has a strong history in China, not least in Qingdao, a port city in Shandong province which used to be a German concession, under a treaty with the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), from 1897 to 1914.

Some of its old German-style streets remain preserved today, and its famous Tsingtao beer is still being brewed according to an old German recipe.

The city has since become a key industrial and business hub in North China - and so few would be surprised if the locals would welcome a German bank's return.