百度拟联手中信推出在线银行

百度拟联手中信推出在线银行

BAT金融战在即，各家何去何从？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

conglomerate 集团，大企业

affiliate 使隶属于

pilot 试点

sought 探寻

downplay 淡化

Baidu in Citic Bank tie-up despite doubts over online bank model（414words）

By Gabriel Wildau in Shanghai

Chinese internet search group Baidu will partner with Citic Bank to launch an online bank,local media reported,even as banks launched by Alibaba and Tencent have failed to meet expectations.

Internet companies have shaken up China's financial sector in recent years,with mobile payments,wealth management and peer-to-peer lending the biggest growth areas.

China Citic Bank,part of state-owned conglomerate Citic Group,suspended its shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong on Monday pending announcement of a “proposed external investment”. Baidu declined to comment on the report by 21st Century Business Herald,but said it would make an announcement tomorrow.

In January,Tencent launched the country's first online-only bank,WeBank,named for the gaming and social media company's popular WeChat instant messaging app. The financial affiliate of Alibaba Group,Ant Financial,followed with its own — MyBank — in June.

China's banking regulator granted bank licenses to Tencent and Ant Financial as part of a pilot programme to encourage privately owned banks. In a sign of the government's hope that private banks can help channel finance to small,private companies,Chinese premier Li Keqiang attended WeBank's launch ceremony. China's nine largest banks are all state-owned and favour lending to large,state-owned groups.

But WeBank's maiden year has been rocky. Bank president Cao Tong resigned in September,and vice president Zheng Xinlin,who handled interbank business,also recently resigned,the bank confirmed on Tuesday. WeBank has also sought to downplay expansion expectations.

“We don't think of ourselves as running a traditional bank. WeBank is an internet platform through and through,but one with a banking licence,” Gu Min,chairman,said last month.

WeBank has granted Rmb4bn（$627m）in consumer loans,of which Rmb2bn are currently outstanding,said the bank. MyBank had granted Rmb3bn in loans to 180,000 small companies in its four months,executives said at a press conference in October,without specifying the amount outstanding.

A key issue for online lenders is whether they can accept deposits under Chinese banking rules that require customers to present identification in person at a bank branch in order to open an account. In September,China Merchants Bank,China's sixth-largest lender,ended an arrangement that allowed its clients to open WeBank accounts.

Last March Citic announced plans to issue “virtual” credit cards in partnership with Alibaba and Tencent that would allow users to pay by scanning QR codes,but the central bank halted the initiative days later.

Citic did not reply to requests for comment on Tuesday.