Bank of America Eyes Credit Card Plan in China

Bank of America Corp. hopes to be the bank that provides China with its first set of consumer credit cards, according to its annual report sent to shareholders this week. Bank of America spent $3 billion last year to purchase a 9 per cent stake in China Construction Bank. Consumer lending in China is seeing unprecedented growth, and the U.S.-based Bank of America sees this as a potential profit opportunity.

The venture is not without some risk. Little is known about potential consumer profiles in China, which only entered the World Trade Organization five years ago, in 2001. Bank of America will not be without some competition, as other industry players like Deutsche Bank, Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Group plc eyeing the same market.

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