Banker finds healthy client base among fitness dancing grannies

For one young bank account manager in Beijing, fitness dancing has been good both to his health and his wallet.

The manager surnamed Ji, a twenty-something employee at Ping'an Bank, has danced his way into a new client base by joining the senior citizen fitness dance group after work.

The same group, which collects in front of Raffles City shopping mall in Dongcheng district, made news in June for a patriotic performance that ended with the mock execution of a Japanese soldier.

According to Ji, nearly a quarter of the group's members have become clients.

"My salary is mainly based on commission," said Ji. "One auntie that usually comes to watch our dances has deposited over 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in our bank."

Ji said he joined the group one year ago and admitted to courting customers by providing free bottled water or paying to fix broken dance props.

Middle-aged and elderly women make for good potential clients since they are usually in charge of the family finances and more prone to persuasion, the report quoted a banking expert as saying.