By the end of the first quarter in 2016, the financial assets of ICBC's retail customers exceeded RMB 12 trillion, up by RMB 450 billion from the year to date. According to statistics, as of the end of the first quarter of 2016, the balance of deposits (in RMB or foreign currencies) of retail customers is approximately RMB 8.1 trillion, the balance of financial products around RMB 1.63 trillion and the balance of funds, insurance, government bond, third-party depository, precious metal and other investment products around RMB 2.3 trillion.

According to an official with ICBC, the stable increase of retail assets is primarily attributable to increase in income of China’s urban and rural residents.Data from National Bureau of Statistics show that the per capita disposable income of China's residents in 2015 is around RMB 22,000, up by 8.9% than last year. Accordingly the number of retail customers of ICBC saw a rapid increase to 505 million at the end of the first quarter of 2016 with a year-on-year growth of 31%, becoming a strong engine for the growth of retail financial assets.

In response to the intense competition in the retail financial service market, ICBC has catered to demand for individual financial investment by strengthening innovation in retail financial products and business transformation, which better satisfies the individual customers' needs for multi-layered and diversified financial asset allocation.

In product innovation, ICBC has launched large-amount term deposit for retail customers, self-service pledged loan of individual financial assets and other innovative financial products in 2015.The self-service pledged loan of individual financial assets integrates consumption, finance and internet, which can effectively "activate" the undue financial assets, allowing customers to obtain loans as needed while enjoying high yields of financial investment. Up to now, ICBC has granted self-service pledged loans linked to individual financial assets worth over RMB 300 billion to around 400,000 customers. In terms of financial business, ICBC has continued efforts in transforming retail financial products to net value products with more reasonable terms and yields that better reflect market environment. It has launched a series of open and net value products, including "Zengli", "Zunli", "Wenli", "Tongli", "government bond futures", "Zunxiang" and "Suixin e". Up to now, the value of open products and net value products has exceed RMB 1.5 trillion and RMB 800 billion respectively.

In service innovation, ICBC has upgraded financial service by leveraging technological strength in internet and big data to implement the concept of internet finance in every aspect of service, which better satisfies public needs for financial and non-financial services, including online payment & clearing, financial investment, financing, shopping, and daily life information.For example, based on the traditional business of payroll payment agency service, ICBC has developed a comprehensive financial service system around "ICBC Xinguanjia", covering six distinctive services of "Xinjinka", "Xinjintong", "Xinjinyi", "Xinjindai", "Xinjinhui" and "Xinjinxiang" and other exclusive and value-added services, which meets customers’ needs for payment, settlement, financial management, financing and consumption. ICBC's customers of payroll payment agency service have exceeded 100 million.

In channel innovation, ICBC has accelerated renovation of service flow with help of the internet thinking. It has established an integrated service mechanism based on the smart service model, allowing for information sharing, flow connection and business connection among different channels, which enhanced site management and efficiency of transaction processing among branches. In addition, ICBC has endeavored to boost integration of online and offline services and innovate the service model by integrating different channels including branches, online banking and mobile banking. Currently over 20 offline services can be appointed online, including withdrawal in foreign currency, issuance of credit certification, large-amount cash withdrawal and physical precious metal sales.