Chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said that the bank will focus on developing blockchain technology, a local media BiaNews reported recently.
ICBC Chairman Yi Huiman said that the financial institution will support innovations in the spheres of blockchain, cloud computing, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The bank will concentrate on developing new directions for "smart banking". This technology will help to improve service in the financial ecosystem and protect the important data that is provided to third parties.
According to the South China Morning Post, ICBC took the palm tree from Wells Fargo and became the largest bank in the world in terms of total assets as of January 2017. According to the latest financial report, the bank owned 24.9 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) in assets in 2017. ICBC is also the largest bank in China with more than 5,000 corporate and 530 million personal customers. In 2017, the bank's activities aimed at creating "intelligent banking” services and accelerated development of financial technologies.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- Chinese regulators take a harsh stand towards cryptocurrencies and ICO. On another hand, they show great interest in blockchain technology. Tightening the rules regarding cryptocurrencies since September 2017, the People's Republic of China is actively working on the development and implementation of blockchain technologies in various sectors.
- Earlier in July it became known that ICBC plans to patent a blockchain-based system. The service for trading financial assets is described in a patent application filed at the beginning of this year. Institutions involved may operate as nodes to form a distributed network through the platform.