Experts warn of 'two-tier' dilemma

Some banking industry insiders have raised concerns about equality of competition between State-owned and private banks in China.

Jin Gang, a former account manager at a joint-stock bank based in Guangdong province, said he's worried that State-owned banks will have a monopoly on good projects concerning large enterprises, whereas private banks will be forced to rely on loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and their own shareholders. In the end, the private banks' ability to make a profit will be called into question.

"If the computer maker Lenovo opened a private bank, would that bank get business from the steel giant Shougang Group or other large enterprises in Beijing? I'm afraid it's very difficult, because the big State-owned banks have already loaned a lot of money to these enterprises. They dare not displease the big banks," he said.