Guangdong Development Bank sees small and medium businesses as one of its key drivers and will make full use of limited lending resources to boost the sector, bankers said yesterday.

The bank's strategy will focus on SMEs, attract big clients and develop its retail banking, said Huang Liyin, general manager of the bank's corporate banking at the Shanghai branch.

"SME business is a gold mine for banks which is yet to be fully developed," Huang said. "If we fail in this market, we miss the gold mine."

Guangdong Development Bank has 150 client managers under the corporate banking department in Shanghai.

Overseas experience has shown that with the development of the capital market, big firms and group clients turn to stock markets for financing. This leaves smaller firms to the banks.

Overseas banks are now leveraging their overseas experiences to grab market share, with Standard Chartered Bank's SME business revenue growing by double digits last year. It has special SME teams in 13 branches on China's mainland.

(Shanghai Daily March 6, 2008)