As the trade war between the US and China intensifies, there is a growing expectation that collateral damage could spill on to Wall Street, disrupting US banks’ plans to expand in mainland China.
Since the Chinese authorities lifted the cap on foreign ownership of securities trading and fund management companies from 49 per cent to 51 per cent in April, many of the world’s biggest banks have been scrambling to take full control of their operations in China.
Bankers view the ability to own more than 50 per cent of their Chinese ventures as important because it gives them full management control, including hiring staff, IT systems and compliance checks.