“We don’t feel the need to launch a virtual bank,” Ajay Mathur, head of consumer banking and wealth management at DBS Bank (Hong Kong), was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post. “We are making very good progress in terms of introducing a number of digital initiatives.” (DBS later confirmed to this publication that the text of the report is accurate.)

In a push to drive financial technology (fintech) development in the Asian financial hub, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will start issuing licences to operate virtual banking platforms as early as the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year.

The newspaper said that more than 50 companies have expressed interest the licence, citing a HKMA statement in May this year. While fintech firms replied enthusiastically, among traditional banks only Standard Chartered Bank has so publicly announced it would apply for the licence. The application deadline is 31 August.

Singapore-headquartered DBS has made digital investment a key part of its business strategy, developing apps and other channels so that clients, including those at the private banking/wealth end of the spectrum, can access information on the hoof.

“We will concentrate our manpower on areas where we can achieve rapid growth,” said Alex Cheung, head of institutional banking at DBS, was quoted as saying. “We will continue to digitalise on the current foundation.”