China Industrial Bank previously offered value-added services for large deposit clients, stating they could recommend clients' children for internships at well-known enterprises. This news sparked a privilege controversy online, prompting China Industrial Bank to apologize and announce the suspension of the project.
The headquarters of China Industrial Bank responded on the afternoon of the 27th, stating that their private banking department launched an elite corporate internship program, attracting public concern and media reports. The bank deeply apologizes for misunderstandings caused by incomplete descriptions during the promotion of this project. In light of the controversy, a prudent evaluation has led to the suspension of this project.
Previously, netizens discovered that China Industrial Bank's private banking posted on WeChat, stating that the "2025 Elite Internship Program" had officially started, offering high-net-worth clients' children tailored practical opportunities. These include but are not limited to JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, CICC, Google, Microsoft, ByteDance, and CITIC Securities.
The application requirements are that "non-bank private clients need to add external funds of more than 10 million RMB (5.8838 million MYR), and existing bank private clients need to add external funds of more than 5 million RMB (2.9419 million MYR)," with the condition that the funds cannot be transferred during the internship period.
According to the "21st Century Business Herald," the China Industrial Bank's private banking department commissions third-party institutions to execute this project as a value-added service for high-net-worth clients.
Third-party institutions collect internship position information from quality enterprises through open channels, recommend it to clients, and provide clients with career ability assessments and training guidance services, helping applicants better match internship position requirements. Whether applicants are offered internship opportunities is ultimately decided by the interviewing enterprises.
ByteDance and CITIC Securities both clarified on Tuesday that internship positions must meet the recruitment needs of the company's related business. CITIC Securities also issued a statement declaring that the company has not established any form of resume referral cooperation with any other third parties, and that there are no "guaranteed acceptance" or "paid referrals" methods to obtain internship opportunities.