Santander, the eurozone's biggest bank, is planning a Chinese joint venture with China Construction Bank in a cautious first step towards filling the Asian gap in its global retail network.

The Spanish bank declined to comment yesterday, but banking insiders in Spain and China said the venture – which has yet to be formally signed by the two sides or approved by the Chinese authorities – would focus on rural banking and automobile finance.

The official China Daily newspaper, which broke the news, said a joint financial holding company was likely to be established with initial capital of Rmb3bn ($439m), rising to Rmb5bn in three years. CCB would hold a 60 per cent stake and Santander the rest in a venture whose operations would include opening 100 village banks.