Jan. 18, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Foreign banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Grameen Trust, as well as domestic banks like China Minsheng Banking Corp, Beijing Rural Commercial Bank and Tianjin Rural Co-operative Bank are planning to set up outlets in the rural regions of China.

Vice-chairman Tang Shuangning of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on its official website that the regulator wants lenders to offer services in the rural region as part of the central government's policy to develop the interior areas.

Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Hubei, Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu have been selected as the first batch of rural provinces where the CBRC will speed up the processing of applications for the launch of banking services.