Moreover, according to several bankers, hundreds of specialized accounts lie untouched across the FTZ as capital controls and regulatory scrutiny make free movement of currency – the hot selling point of the zone – untenable.CMB did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Shanghai government said the authority was not aware of the capital control snags.
But bankers found the reality far from the hype and as concerns over capital flight led regulators to clamp down on yuan leaving the country from 2015, usability deteriorated further. The Bank of Ningbo currently has four branches in the FTZ, but while they're still expanding, most of the work done is normal banking business.
Over at the Bank of Nanjing, management is not keen on expanding the FTZ business, said a person who works in the zone branch.