(Yicai Global) Dec. 12 -- MYBank, an online-only lender which counts Ant Financial Services as its largest shareholder, has had its plan to increase its equity capital for the first time since being set up four years ago approved by Chinese regulators.

Zhejiang E-commerce Bank, as MYBank is officially know, must submit an application if the eligibility of any new investors needs reviewing by the regulator, the Zhejiang provincial office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in the approval document published on its website yesterday. It did not mention whether the bank will bring in new investors nor did it give details about the new level of registered capital.

Unconfirmed media reports said in July that Hangzhou-based MYBank planned to boost its registered capital to CNY10 billion (USD1.42 billion) from CNY4 billion, adding that existing shareholders, which also include Fosun International, will take part.

MYBank, which targets small and micro companies, opened for business in June 2015 and uses many new fintech technologies. The bank had served 17.46 million small and micro firms as of late September, 10 times that of its initial period, according to its own data. Some 80 percent of these have never secured loans from any other bank.

The bank's capital adequacy ratio dropped to 12.1 percent late last year from 18.51 percent in 2015, its 2018 earnings report showed. The CAR for banks classified as non-systemically important must not fall below 10.5 percent, regulations state.

Ant Financial has a 30 percent stake in MYBank, followed by Fosun with 25 percent.