A fleet of Baidu driverless vehicles image: Baidu

aiBank — a joint venture between Chinese company Baidu and China CITIC Bank — is seeking up to 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) in funding according to a Bloomberg report. Bloomberg says discussions are on-going and details of the deal are subject to change, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

aiBank is an online lender set up in 2015 that provides personal loans of up to 300,000 yuan ($43,500) without requiring collateral, according to its website. It also sells financial products, offers e-wallet systems, and operates deposit services. CITIC Bank holds majority (70%) stake in aiBank while Baidu owns the rest.

A Baidu driverless vehicle image: Baidu

CITIC is one of the largest lenders in China in terms of total assets, managing close to $300 billion as of 2017. Amid competition from digital payments companies, traditional lenders like CITIC have reduced headcount and decreased its bank networks. A joint venture like that with Baidu is a good way to win market share in the digital payments world while tapping into the experience and data of established internet companies.

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