“Exchange experiences and learn for the future” – this was the motto of the conference taking place in Jinan/China on 9 and 10 January 2016. The Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation (Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation) together with high-ranking representatives of economic and political bodies, like the former Federal Minister Dirk Niebel and Dr. Christoph Siemons, Member of the Board of the German savings bank Sparkasse KölnBonn, and more than 100 executives of the Chinese banking sector discussed the customer segment of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. All participants agreed in one point: Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are an important customer segment for local banks, which needs to be tapped by offering adequate financial services through qualified bank staff.
What kind of requirements need to be met by the banking institutions, what kind of financial products and services are suitable for this customer segment and how can project results and experiences be used for the future, all these questions were discussed by the Chinese banking representatives with the German experts from Sparkassenstiftung. Nicole Brand and Ferdinand Feldgen, two of Sparkassenstiftung’s Project Managers, and its Managing Director Niclaus Bergmann were prepared to answer the manifold questions of their Chinese colleagues.
Sparkassenstiftung and SCCBA: Project partners since 2006
The conference was organised by Sparkassenstiftung in cooperation with the Shandong City Commercial Bank Alliance (SCCBA). Since 2008, the SCCBA has operated as service agent for local banking institutions, predominantly in the province of Shandong. Currently, it offers efficient network solutions to 15 city commercial banks, which are comparable to German savings banks. Among others, the network services range from developing IT systems, operating a data processing center according to the German model of Finanz Informatik, the IT service provider of the German Savings Banks Finance Group, the handling of payment transactions as well as offering training and further education measures.
The SCCBA and Sparkassenstiftung look back on a long-standing project partnership: From 2006 through to 2010, Sparkassenstiftung and the Rheinischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband (Rhineland Savings Banks Association) promoted SCCBA’s institutional setup and development in Shandong, the economically third-strongest province in Eastern China.
To this date, the German Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Savings Banks Finance Group) has maintained good contacts to the SCCBA and has supported the alliance with new ideas and incentives to improve its further development.
Sparkassenstiftung in China: Project partnerships to professionalize the MSME business
Since 2002, the Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation (Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation) has cooperated with various Chinese partners. Currently, Sparkassenstiftung is running three projects focussing on the professionalization of the MSME business and staff training.
Many Chinese credit institutions render services to wealthy private clients or large corporate customers. But the medium-sized customer segments have been avoided by many financial institutions for a long time. In order to empower its partners to supply this customer group with financial services on a professional basis, Sparkassenstiftung advises banking institutions in the provinces of Shandong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. In so doing, it imparts the experiences of the German Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Savings Banks Finance Group) to its Chinese partners. But the adjustment of expertise to local conditions is always an important factor of success of the mutual project work.
For further information, please, follow the link <link http: www.sparkassenstiftung.de>www.sparkassenstiftung.de.
Contact partners:
Nicole Brand / Ferdinand Feldgen / Carina Lau
Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation
Simrockstraße 4
53115 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 9703 -6634 / -6616 / -6608
Fax: +49 228 9703 6613