International banks best placed to profit from renminbi

Since the decision by China's regulators last July to liberalise the renminbi as a trade settlement currency, RMB deposits in Hong Kong have surged to Rmb315 million at the end of 2010, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). This has been a boon for the Bank of China in Hong Kong (BOCHK) which is the sole renminbi clearing bank. But the currency reforms have yet to trickle down to the balance sheets of Hong Kong’s international banks.