Private bank makes first loan

"We aim to cover 30 million small businesses and 300 million individual consumers in the upcoming decade."

Five banks entirely funded by private capital were given the green light by authorities in 2014. Previously, China Minsheng Bank, founded in 1996 in Beijing, was the country's sole national privately funded bank.

Tencent Holdings, which operates China's most popular online chatting service, is the largest shareholder of WeBank. Other major shareholders include Shenzhen Baiyeyuan Investment and Shenzhen Liye Group.

The bank, registered in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, is also expected to expand the service in the liberalization of the renminbi with neighboring Hong Kong.

It plans to hold a grand opening in April.

Jonathan Woetzel, a researcher from Shanghai-based McKinsey Global Institute, said in an article that companies emerging from the technology side have the advantages of agility and deep technical talent, and they are quickly building the financial capabilities to compete head-to-head with traditional financial institutions.

He said the better allocation of capital to small and medium-sized enterprises could add 1 to 2 percentage points to China's overall GDP growth, creating up to 11 million jobs.