Chinese banks' fee income predicted to surge 25%

But here's why it may not be too impressive.

According to Bernstein Research, it forecasts Q3 '13 fee income will grow 25% on a YoY basis for the group.

Here's more:

While this will be an important driver of revenue growth for the banks in Q3, it nonetheless marks a deceleration from the 31% growth the banks reported in Q2.

On a QoQ basis, we expect fee income to compress 6% from the Q2 2013 levels due to the normal seasonality patterns (which we discuss later in this section) 

The 25% YoY growth will be driven by the banks' credit card business as well as the contribution from their wealth management products (including distribution, management and custodial fees).

WMP outstanding balances were up 41% YoY for the banks we cover at the end of H1 2013.