Chinese banks are facing a challenge from Internet-based financial institutions, such as Aliloan, and P2P lending for unsecured loans. Such firms adopt Big Data technologies to improve risk management and customer segmentation abilities.

The Big Data challenge is essentially one of understanding customers. Banks can either go deeper into data applications or become marginalized. In the report Big Data Strategies in the Chinese Banking Industry, Celent examines Big Data applications, use cases, and trends.

Many banks have already started trying to gain an edge. Big Data has been used to achieve event marketing and real time marketing in Bank of Communications and the credit card center of CITIC bank respectively; China Construction Bank has integrated its e-commerce platform and credit business; China Everbright Bank has established a social network information database; and China Merchants Bank has grown its small and micro loan market.

“Going forward, banks will utilize Big Data technologies to develop such businesses as risk-based pricing, real time interaction of data across multiple channels, enhancement of data quality, real time marketing, and P2P lending,” says Hua Zhang, Analyst with Celent’s Asian Financial Services Group and author of the report.

This report describes the market, looks at cases, and examines the industry’s growth potential. The report has five figures and two tables.

A Chinese version of the report is also available.