SWIFT Partnership and Solutions to Boost China Financial Infrastructure

BEIJING, 5 June 2007—In an initiative that is bolstering the management and security of financial transaction processing within China’s fast-growing financial services sector, SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is pursuing an initiative to significantly extend its business operations, services and solutions in China.

SWIFT expects these measures to benefit China as it continues to reform its financial transaction processing infrastructure domestically, while cementing more robust operational links to the global financial system.

"Working more closely with our national and international communities is integral to the SWIFT2010 strategy ‘Achieve more, together,’” said Francis Vanbever, Chief Financial Officer, SWIFT. "This is particularly relevant in China where SWIFT can enable banks to play a key role as China diversifies its economic base from reliance on production of consumer goods to value-added manufacturing and services and upgrades its financial system as a consequence."

SWIFT is developing partnerships with regulators, financial institutions and corporations – all of whom can benefit from being part of the global SWIFT community by using its worldwide network and shared platform, its common standards, and its growing range of solutions. SWIFT can help them create new business opportunities and revenue streams while reducing costs, improve efficiency, and manage risk.

At the SWIFT Business Forum in Beijing on 5-6 June, over 200 representatives of China’s financial community met with 19 SWIFT experts to learn more of SWIFT’s plans for China and about opportunities for increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of their own institutions.

“As a cooperative, we work with and for our members,” said Michael Cheung, Managing Director, at SWIFT. “SWIFT is well placed to assist China’s financial community to implement a more robust and secure financial market infrastructure both domestically and internationally that will support the growing variety and volume of financial transactions occurring in China.”

Financial transactions in China have been increasing exponentially as a result of the country’s expanding industrial production, imports and exports, burgeoning trade in securities and the gradual loosening of restrictions on the value and trading of the yuan.

As China revamps its big banks allowing them to benefit from the country’s spectacular economic growth, solutions such as SWIFTNet Trade Services Utility (TSU) are creating an exciting opportunity for them to deliver real value added solutions to their corporate customers.

“With the SWIFTNet TSU platform and application, banks are now able to reduce their costs and offer more competitive supply chain services to their corporate customers,” said Jackie Keogh, Head of Supply Chain Management at SWIFT. “We are delighted that three banks in China have already signed up for this service – Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Hua Xia Bank. These early adopters from China send a strong signal about the potential for such a service from SWIFT.”

SWIFT is the industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standardized messaging services and interface software to nearly 8,100 financial institutions in 207 countries and territories. SWIFT members include banks, broker-dealers and investment managers. The broader SWIFT community also encompasses corporates as well as market infrastructures in payments, securities, treasury and trade.

-ENDS-

Note to Editors:

About SWIFT
SWIFT is the industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standardised messaging services and interface software to nearly 8,100 financial institutions in 207 countries and territories. SWIFT members include banks, broker-dealers and investment managers. The broader SWIFT community also encompasses corporates as well as market infrastructures in payments, securities, treasury and trade. Over the past ten years, SWIFT message prices have been reduced over 80%, and system availability approaches 5x9 reliability — 99.999% of uptime.

For more information about this press release, please refer to our website: www.swift.com or contact the SWIFT press office:

Kara Condon
SWIFT
Tel: +32 2 655 3740
Email: kara.condon@swift.com

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