Hong Kong banks attract suitors

Wing Hang Bank is the latest family owned lender in Hong Kong to say it has received a takeover approach, prompting talk of sector-wide consolidation.

The announcement follows news from Hong Kong’s smallest family-run lender Chong Hing Bank on August 7 that it too had attracted a suitor.

Part of the attraction, say MA bankers, is the potential to use the small Hong Kong banks as a launch pad for cross-border renminbi-denominated business.

Bankers say that Hong Kong’s small banks are ripe for consolidation given the manifold pressures on their profits such as low interest rates and competition.

Mainland Chinese...