A banking trade association in Hainan, China's southernmost island province, was established on December 23 involving nine local commercial banks.

As China's largest special economic zone, the island's financial industry has experienced a prosperous era this decade, said a local finance official.

The establishment of the association is aimed at combining the efforts of financial and banking institutions in the province to meet the challenges that will arise following China's entry into the World Trade Organization, standardize competition, minimize financial risks, and carry out exchange and cooperation.

At the same time, the association will provide its members with a series of information and administrative exchanges and set up an intra-provincial banking service network.