China Citic Bank and search engine Baidu got the greenlight to go forward with their joint online banking venture.
The venture received regulatory approval from the Chinese authority Tuesday. The digital bank, which is called aiBank, will offer deposits and loans to individuals and small businesses.
The bank will be exclusively online, according to reports, and will not have any physical branches.
China Citic Bank will own 70% of the venture, while Baidu will own the remaining 30%, according to the announcement. Initially named Baixin Bank, when the two companies first announced plans to join forces in 2015, the bank was renamed to demonstrate its reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Read more at South China Morning Post and Finextra.