Family-run small lender Wing Hang Bank is aggressively expanding its mortgage operation in Macau, where a boom in the property market has being driven by Hong Kong investment.
According to Lee Tak-lim, a director and general manager at the bank's Macau flagship Banco Weng Hang, mortgages are expected to increase 5 per cent in volume this year, coming on top of 10 per cent growth last year.
Of the $1.7 billion loans drawn down last year, $1.4 billion was earmarked for property and most of that for mortgages.
Starting yesterday, customers can transfer money instantly between their Wing Hang bank accounts in Hong Kong and Weng Hang bank accounts in Macau. Previously, such transactions took at least one day.
'The new cross-border transaction service will facilitate Hong Kong customers in paying back their mortgages in Macau,' Mr Lee said, adding that there was an increase in Hong Kong people investing in Macau property recently.
Weng Hang, which has 11 outlets in Macau, aims to open two new branches this year. The Macau expansion is more significant when compared with Wing Hang's planned Hong Kong expansion to add up to three more branches to the existing 37.
While the territorial size of Macau was small, Mr Lee said there was still room for the bank to further expand its retail network, pointing to the fact that the Bank of China now had 20 branches in the former Portuguese enclave.
