The San Francisco branch of China's Bank of Communications Co has seen strong growth this year and plans to expand into personal banking on the US West Coast, a top executive said.

"We are excited to see that this branch has developed so many businesses; its performance has exceeded our expectations," Dicky Yip, executive vice-president, told China Daily.

China's fifth-biggest bank by assets opened its second US branch in November 2011, two decades after the first, in New York.

"We are the first foreign bank to receive such approval from the US Federal Reserve after the financial crisis" that began in 2008, Yip said. He described the process as arduous. "The good news finally came in April 2011, more than two years after we submitted our application."

Decision-makers at BoCom's headquarters in Shanghai deliberately steered clear of Los Angeles when choosing a branch site, according to Yip.

"We don't want to compete with Bank of China there. They have a strong, longtime presence already."

Northern California was a natural choice, said Yang Shaohui, the new branch's general manager. He and Yip believe the San Francisco location will serve as a bridge between Chinese and US companies.

At a ceremony before it opened, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called the new branch a "game-changing addition" to the city's financial services sector. He said it "affirms that San Francisco is the premier gateway for trade" with China.

In the United States, BoCom is focused on commercial banking, mainly serving Chinese enterprises that do business on the West Coast. "Opening accounts, trade and financing, trans-border settlement - we do everything," Yip said.

But US companies seeking to enter the Chinese market are also sought, with BoCom proposing customized services for potential clients.

Philip Wong, vice-president of business development at the branch, has spent much of his time networking at events in Silicon Valley. On weekends, he's often attending seminars on topics related to China-US relations.

"I meet and talk to people from different fields - entrepreneurs, investors, company executives and government officials," said Wong, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. He said he enjoys helping the bank raise its profile in the community.

Wong expressed pride in BoCom's development over the past year, highlighting work with other banks to expand the loan-syndication business. "We are one of the few banks willing to use the yuan in settlements," he said.

As a foreign bank, BoCom "will take some time to get integrated into the market and find out what businesses will fit with our portfolio," Wong said, pointing to Silicon Valley's roster of IT, biotechnology and technology investment firms and their need for "value-added services".

"We will introduce US clients, if they are investing institutions, to the Chinese market and help them get acquainted with the local startup ecosystem and regulations," Yip said.

BoCom also plans to expand into personal banking "We already applied for the license," Yip said, though he didn't have a timetable for its approval.

Regarding the recent purchase by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd of Bank of East Asia Ltd's US unit, BoCom executives don't see the BEA USA Bay Area operation as a competitor.

"More Chinese banks will help develop relationships across borders," Wong said. "For foreign banks to grow, we will need to see how well we can establish ourselves, as distinct from major players like Bank of America and Wells Fargo."

junechang@chinadailyusa.com