As the number of high net worth individuals grows in China, the prosperity of the domestic private banking sector will likewise continue to increase. That is, of course, if China's immature and imperfect private banks can improve their operating standards and the larger business environment which supports them.

The first thing China's private banks should do is to adopt stable and sustainable business development plans which insulate them from risk as much as possible. For examples, Chinese bankers should look at their peers in Switzerland and study how they were able to weather the financial crisis which battered US-based institutions such as Citibank and Goldman Sachs.

Chinese banks need to also expand the scope of their business and their products. The goal of every private banking institution should be to provide customers with a complete range of investment, trust, insurance and consulting services. In China though, these services are overseen by different regulators, so private banks need to strengthen their efficiency when it comes to clearing regulatory hurdles.

The author is Xin Ping, a commentator.