It was in 2004 that CCB cooperated with the then China Southern Securities Company in a trial adoption of a third-party depository business model for customer transaction settlement funds.  Since then, CCB have successfully developed a third-party depository system and become the first domestic bank to launch third-party depository business in customer transaction settlement funds simultaneously for the A-share and B-share markets.  It has now signed agreements on third-party depository of transaction settlement funds of securities customers with 95 securities traders, which represent 95% of all traders in normal operation.  Of these, 83 are already using CCB’s third-party depository system online, and there are now almost eight million online customers, involving a depository amount of nearly 140 billion yuan.

In essence, third-party depository of customer transaction settlement funds means that, as a third party, a commercial bank will provide securities customers access services with respect to transaction settlement funds.  In addition, the bank will check the total amount of transaction settlement funds against itemized accounts and monitor the security of the funds.  Third-party depository provides a "partition wall” between a securities company and the transaction settlement funds of its customers, thereby providing more effective protection of investor interests.  According to China Securities Regulatory Commission, third-party depository is required of all securities traders by the end of August this year.

All along, CCB regards developing third-party depository business as an important subject of it strategic transformation.  With a keen sense of responsibility to investors and securities traders, it has carried out in-depth studies of the characteristics of depository business and customer needs and has been creating new products and services.  According to statistics, CCB handles approximately 150,000 to 200,000 transfers-in or transfers-out of depository funds everyday, and the amount of daily transfers is about 20-30 billion yuan.  At present, in the third-party depository business, CCB is leading the industry in terms of the number of online securities traders and the number of customers involved.  In addition, the amount of depository funds it handles has been setting new highs repeatedly.  In this business, CCB has a number of firsts to its name: the first commercial bank starting the customer transaction settlement fund depository business; the first commercial bank successfully operating its third-party depository business system online; the first commercial bank experimenting with a multi-bank depository mode in cooperation with securities traders after the new Securities Laws of China are in force; the first commercial bank launching third-party depository business for B-share customer transaction settlement funds.  In response to investor concerns over the security of depository funds, CCB is nipping problems in the bud through system design.  This is done by employing closed operation for its customer transaction settlement fund accounts and for the flow of funds within these accounts.  According to a source in the industry, CCB is enjoying absolute leverage in this business area because it has long-accumulated hardware facilities and business experience.