ICBC wants JPMorgan’s former hedge fund clients

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    Chinese lenders are increasingly becoming more aggressive in hunting for business overseas as economic outlook at home is not very promising.  Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is one of them.

    ICBC is interested at the former hedge fund clients of JPMorgan, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    In March, JPMorgan has decided to stop dealing with middlemen (or introducing brokers) that brought hedge fund customers to the bank. With JPMorgan out of the picture, introducing brokers and their clients — mostly small hedge funds — are now scouting for new clearing banks, WSJ said. ICBC and other banks are trying to lure these funds into doing business with them.

    ICBC’s bid to win these clients, more than 1,000 of them, makes sense because together, they have $30 billion to $35 billion worth of assets under management.

    But it won’t be easy, WSJ said:

    “ICBC may face an uphill task, as there is likely to be some scepticism among hedge funds over holding assets with a Chinese bank, according to prime brokerage executives.”

    Photo credit: China Supertrends via Flickr