Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., Ping An Bank's parent company, Tuesday denied recent reports in the media that the bank will be deregistered next February, Jinghua Times reported.

The reports that Ping An Bank will be deregistered next February is groundless market rumor, Ping An Insurance said. According to the insurance giant, the consolidation between Ping An Bank and Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) is well under way, but the manner of merging the former into the latter is only one of the various possibilities.

On Oct. 8, Yang Xi, a China National Radio host, said in a microblog post that SDB will remain after the merger, while Ping An Bank will cease to exist within the coming months, citing Ren Huichuan, Ping An Insurance's general manager.

A report by Securities Times Tuesday echoed Yang's post, adding that the deregistration will happen next February, citing unnamed sources with the two banks.

Meanwhile, SDB responded that the consolidation process is smooth. Since the two banks will be merged into one, one of them will undoubtedly be deregistered, an unnamed SDB staff said. A specific time for deregistration and the naming of the new bank – which has not yet been decided – will depend on the reviewing process by relevant authorities, the source said.

In 2010, Ping An Insurance raised its holdings of SDB to 52.4 percent by purchasing 32 percent of the Shenzhen-based bank. Ping An Insurance used 2.69 billion yuan in cash and its 90.75 percent stake in Ping An Bank to fund the deal.

By the end of July this year, SDB completed the takeover of Ping An Bank stakes, indicating a start of the two banks' consolidation. Until now, details has been sparse from either side.

Yangcheng Evening News previously learned from the two banks that Ping An Bank is more likely to be deregistered and the consolidated bank will get a new name.

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