More than custodians: what banks bring to the RQFII party

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) added ten new names to the list of RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) licensees in January, while the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) approved quotas for four South Korean firms in February. With RQFII gradually being rolled out to more regions in the world, market participants have realised that banks are able to play a much bigger role than just being custodians.