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The Bank of China's entry into the British market will come as a surprise to some and a relief to many.
It hasn't been crippled by the credit crunch and it's rich with Chinese savings when many big European banks are still struggling with massive government bailout loans.
The Chinese also bring with them more than a whiff of old-fashioned banking; the kind of rules that prevailed before the credit crunch, when bankers actually talked first to their customers.
The Bank will use its own capital, another return to past practice. Economists will laud what's happening as evidence that the market does work: the Chinese earn money from selling cheap goods to Europeans, then save what they earn in banks which then cycle the money back to Europeans as loans for them to buy property.
Others have spotted the same opportunities as the Bank of China. Israeli and Swedish banks, also less affected by the credit crunch than the mainstream European banks, are offering loans in the potentially lucrative British home loans market substantially cheaper than the local alternative.
Glossary 词汇表
relief 慰藉
crippled 受创了
credit crunch 信贷紧缩
savings 存款
struggling 挣扎
massive 巨大的
bailout loans 紧急援助贷款
whiff 一点点
old-fashioned 传统的，老套的
prevailed 盛行，普遍
capital 资本
past practice 过去的做法
laud 赞美
goods 商品
cycle 流转
property 房产
mainstream 主流
lucrative 利润丰厚的
spotted 发现了
substantially 大大地