French banking group BNP Paribas, which owns a 19.2% stake in Nanjing City Commercial Bank, has announced that the Chinese finance firm has been renamed Bank of Nanjing, as part of the development and modernization of the bank.
The co-operation for over a year between Bank of Nanjing and BNP Paribas has proved successful, after the group revealed pre-tax profits of RMB771 million for fiscal 2006.
The Chinese banking market has so far been very promising for the group. Bank of Nanjing is one of the first municipal banks to obtain authorization to develop outside its municipality of origin. It opened an agency in the municipality of Taizhou, and represents the first stage of development out of Nanjing.
Other Bank of Nanjing activities include a joint venture with Cetelem, which launched a new consumer credit product, making it possible to the users to have appropriations directly on the place of sale.