Overseas Chinese-focused banks are banks that operate outside China that cater to Chinese immigrants in foreign countries, these banks are not controlled by the Chinese government, nor do they have any ties with the Chinese government.
These independent banks were originally established in immigrant communities to remit money back to China but later moved to cater to the people of their adopted countries. These overseas Chinese banks contributed to a large extent to the development of the countries and communities in which they were located. Overseas Chinese banks normally refer to Chinese banks outside China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
In Southeast Asia, overseas Chinese banks support the local overseas Chinese population that play a significant if not dominant role in the local economy.
In addition to Southeast Asia, the second location where most overseas Chinese banks are is the United States. However, unlike Southeast Asia where Chinese play dominant roles in the local economy, the Chinese Americans’ share of the highly developed American economy is small and most overseas Chinese banks in the United States are privately held.[1]
The oversea Chinese banks in the United States are hardly able to compete with the well established mainstream banks on equal terms and their assets are often far less than that of those well established mainstream banks. Therefore, most overseas Chinese banks in the United States adopted a different strategy than their Southeast Asian counterparts by serving a particular segment of the market. Most overseas Chinese banks are relatively small banks in terms of assets and they began as community banks catering to their local Chinese community in the United States. A few of the banks would later expand to the national level but most remain at the community level, tailoring to the specific needs of the local overseas Chinese, such as helping them to remit money back to China, to provide finance for import and export businesses, and real estate.[2] [3]
Most overseas Chinese banks in the United States are concentrated in the western part of the country and in New York City mirroring the traditional population distribution of the Chinese Americans in the United States.[4] Recently, some overseas Chinese banks have begun to open offices in other parts of the country, following the newer Chinese immigration pattern.
*It is important to note that these banks are not controlled or influenced by the Chinese government. These banks are independently and privately owned, and cater to the Chinese and Asian populations of their respective countries.*
There is only one Overseas Chinese bank in the Latin American region.