Foreign Banks Land Cross-Border Cash Pooling Deals in Force One Week After Nationwide Rollout, as China Deepens High-Level Financial Opening-Up

On September 21, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) held a symposium with foreign financial institutions to hear their opinions and suggestions, and to study how to further improve the business environment and promote high-level opening-up of the financial sector.

Reporters noticed that while the central bank held the symposium with foreign financial institutions, a number of foreign banks were simultaneously landing centralized cross-border operations of domestic and foreign currency funds for multinational corporations. Among them, HSBC China, Standard Chartered China and DBS China successively announced the landing or commencement of the business over the past weekend and early this week.

According to disclosures from the institutions involved, the first batch of clients includes both foreign multinational corporations such as Carrier Group and leading listed companies in China's food sector.

Just One Week After the New Rules Took Effect, Foreign Banks Move Quickly to Follow Up

Under the Notice on Matters Concerning the Centralized Cross-Border Operations of Domestic and Foreign Currency Funds of Multinational Corporations, jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the business was extended from two pilot regions - Beijing and Guangdong (including Shenzhen) - to the whole country starting September 14.

The policy adjustments "further facilitate group-wide fund consolidation and utilization for multinational corporations and deepen high-level financial opening-up." They optimized the conditions for multinationals to participate in the business, simplified some filing and registration procedures, and made it easier for companies to pool and allocate cross-border funds in both domestic and foreign currencies.

On September 21, DBS China announced that, as the centralized cross-border fund pooling business for multinational corporations was formally rolled out nationwide, it had successfully completed the first such operations after the national rollout for a leading listed company in a domestic food sub-sector in Shanghai, becoming one of the first foreign banks to participate after the nationwide expansion.

DBS China said that, through institutional measures under the new policy - lower entry thresholds, simplified filing procedures, optimized consolidated quotas and more flexible pooling ratios - it helps multinational enterprises achieve integrated management of onshore and offshore funds.

Before that, several other foreign banks had also announced the launch of centralized cross-border operations of domestic and foreign currency funds for multinational corporations.

On September 20, HSBC China announced that it had successfully conducted the cross-border cash pooling business for two multinational corporations, becoming one of the first foreign banks to participate after the nationwide rollout. Among them, the foreign multinational Carrier Group became one of the first enterprises to join under the expanded policy.

Standard Chartered China also recently announced that, with the Notice taking effect on September 14, it had actively responded to the regulatory policy and participated in the implementation of the new rules, tailoring cash pooling solutions for target clients, and has now formally started the implementation of the business.

In addition, Standard Chartered disclosed that it had previously participated in the pilot of the integrated domestic and foreign currency cash pooling business. In 2021, Standard Chartered China's clients in Beijing and Shenzhen were respectively approved as the first pilot enterprises of the integrated cash pooling business, making Standard Chartered China the first foreign partner bank. In 2025, Standard Chartered became the only foreign partner bank for pilot enterprises of the upgraded integrated cash pooling business in Shanghai, Changsha, Chengdu and Jinan.

Further Unleashing Cross-Border Fund Flows as the PBOC Keeps Sending Opening-Up Signals

Several foreign banks said the new measures will help more eligible multinational corporate groups break down funding barriers, achieve optimal allocation of global resources, and further unlock the policy dividends of cross-border fund flows.

Wang Yunfeng, President and CEO of HSBC China, said the policy expansion allows more multinational corporations to conveniently build an "overpass" for onshore-offshore fund flows, turning institutional dividends into momentum for corporate development. This expanded opening-up measure, which facilitates cross-border trade and investment and financing, helps further boost the confidence of foreign multinationals in deepening their presence in the Chinese market, and also provides tangible financial support for Chinese enterprises' global operations.

Chen Peiying, Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS China, said the new policy framework brings significant strategic advantages to clients, not only greatly improving the efficiency of cross-border fund allocation but also effectively reducing overall financing costs. DBS China will seize the window of policy upgrading, focus on guiding clients toward more agile and centralized treasury management, and continue to deepen strategic cooperation with leading enterprises and multinational corporations.

"In the past, cross-border cash pooling business was mostly concentrated in enterprises with larger fund volumes and more cross-border business. With the optimized entry requirements and the nationwide rollout, more enterprises are expected to be brought within the scope of the business," a source at a foreign bank told reporters, adding that corporate demand for centralized fund consolidation, cross-border allocation and lower funding costs will further drive the development of banks' related business.

The policy expansion also opens up new space for foreign banks to leverage their strengths in cross-border financial services. The source said that HSBC, Standard Chartered, DBS and other foreign banks all have fairly mature global cash management and cross-border treasury service systems, capable of providing corresponding support for multinationals' onshore and offshore fund management.

It is understood that in recent years the central bank has continued to signal wider opening-up of financial markets. At Monday's symposium, PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng said China will continue to promote high-level financial opening-up, keep improving policy supply, steadily expand two-way opening of financial markets, continuously optimize cross-border payment services, and make the international use of the RMB more convenient.