China's overseas bank assets continue growth

China has become the developing country with the largest overseas bank assets, a trend in support of the increasingly international ambitions of Chinese businesses and opportunities within government-led initiatives.

By the end of 2017, the scale of overseas assets of major banks in China exceeded $2 trillion, according to a report by the Academy of Internet Finance at Zhejiang University earlier this week.

The Bank of China ranked sixth among the top 10 largest overseas banks in terms of total overseas assets, according to the report.

Of the top 10 banks by overseas assets, 9 of them are from developed countries, most of which are banks in Europe and the United States, the report said.

The report ranks 106 banks from 38 major economies. The total assets of these banks in 2017 reached $70 trillion, equivalent to 86 percent of global GDP during the period.

"Chinese banks' expansion strategies have benefited from policy supports such as the Belt and Road Initiative, with new projects creating demand for goods and infrastructure," said Ben Shenglin, dean of the academy.

Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in banks' compliance awareness, management capabilities and risk control capabilities, as some Chinese banks have been found to fall foul of local regulations and anti-money laundering controls as they venture abroad, Ben said.