Hong Kong’s eight digital banks have vowed to expand their wealth management businesses in the coming years, after five successful years of drawing customers’ deposits gave them the confidence to venture further into a territory long dominated by bricks-and-mortar banks.
Advertisement
All eight of the branchless lenders reported a strong increase in deposits, loans and net interest income in 2024. They did not report a net profit, but their losses narrowed due to improved net interest income and fee income from their wealth management businesses, according to separate announcements on Thursday.
In 2019, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued eight virtual bank licences. In October, the HKMA relaxed its rule to allow them to have a limited number of branches, but to date, none of the companies have opened their physical doors.
In 2020, ZA Bank, WeLab Bank, Mox Bank, Ant Bank, Livi Bank, PAO Bank, Airstar Bank and Fusion Bank commenced operations. The Covid-19 pandemic helped them grow because people were working from home.
The eight digital banks had attracted a combined HK$64.39 billion (US$8.3 billion) of deposits as of the end of last year, an increase of 74 per cent from a year earlier, according to a Post calculation.
Advertisement