TOPIC

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The Bank of China

Bank of China is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China – the other three are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. Bank of China was founded in 1912 to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China, and is the oldest bank in China.

Chairman / President

Liu Lianke

CEO / Managing Director

Liu Jin

CFO / Finance Director

Wang Wei

Industry

Banking/Financial Services

Website

boc.cn

Headquarters address

Bank of China Building,No. 1 Fuxingmen Nei Dajie,Beijing 100818,People's Republic of China

Stock Code

SEHK:3988
SSE:601988

Year founded

1912

People walk across a bridge with a ticker board showing stock prices in Shanghai’s financial district. Photo: AFP

Stocks

Chinese firms in CSI 300 pay a record US$157.2 billion in dividends for 2021

Dividend payments by onshore Chinese companies likely to exceed 1 trillion yuan for financial year 2021 for the first time, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

7 Apr 2022 - 7:04PM

SFC

SFC asks firms to ensure business continuity as mass testing looms

8 Mar 2022 - 12:20PM

China's economic recovery

‘Firewalls’ needed to protect China from economic risks, central bank says

17 Dec 2021 - 6:00PM

Property financing

Bank of China offers cash bonus on mortgages for green housing

The local unit of China’s third-largest lender is teaming up with developers to reward homebuyers for choosing residential projects with green credentials.

22 Sep 2021 - 7:30AMvideocam

Hong Kong's skyline with residential buildings is seen at sunset in Tseung Kwan O in August 2020. Photo: Sun Yeung

Agricultural Bank of China

China gets tough on financial sector risk management, extends rules to more firms

Contingency planning has been a requirement for China’s biggest financial institutions for a decade now.

10 Jun 2021 - 7:13AMvideocam

Hong Kong company reporting season

Two of China’s big banks beat estimates with 2020 profit rise

Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China beat analysts estimates with profit increases, thanks to a strong fourth-quarter rebound.

30 Mar 2021 - 8:12PMvideocam

Hong Kong national security law

US Treasury takes no action on major banks in Hong Kong sanctions

The move is likely to come as a relief to major lenders and financial institutions such as Bank of China, Citigroup, HSBC and Standard Chartered, that have been trying to distance themselves from those sanctioned officials amid the controversial national security law passed for Hong Kong.

12 Dec 2020 - 11:43PM

A Citibank branch on Russell Street in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district on 29 April 2014. Photo: Felix Wong

Ant Group

Two Hong Kong banks pocket US$3.2 million in Ant IPO loan fees

HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong), two of the biggest margin lenders for Ant Group’s suspended IPO in Hong Kong, will pocket up to HK$25 million in interest income, after opting not to waive interest charged from customers.

5 Nov 2020 - 11:56PMvideocam

Cryptocurrency

What will China’s digital yuan mean for Alipay and WeChat Pay?

China already boasts more digital mobile payment users than anywhere else on earth, in a US$49 trillion market almost 500 times bigger than in the United States. The People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang wants to hasten the digital transformation of China’s currency and economy.

5 Sep 2020 - 10:38AMvideocam

Bank of China (BOC)

Brush up on Mandarin, as China’s banks offer tens of thousands of jobs

China’s largest banks have already been leaned on by Beijing to prop up the economy. They’ve been told to pump cash out to small and medium-sized businesses and forgo profits by lowering interest rates and providing relief on trillions of yuan of troubled loans.

25 Aug 2020 - 3:13PM

Job seekers at a recruitment fair at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology in Xi'an on April 12, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

US-China relations

With US sanctions looming, China’s banks urged to switch away from SWIFT

US legislation could penalise banks for serving officials who implement the new national security for Hong Kong, including cutting off access to the SWIFT financial messaging service.

29 Jul 2020 - 4:22PM

A Bank of China report looked at potential measures the United States could take against Chinese banks, including cutting off their access to the SWIFT financial messaging service, a primary network used by banks globally to make financial transactions. Photo: Shutterstock

Greater Bay Area

The door to China’s wealth market creaks open to the Bay Area

Partial liberalisation of China’s capital control could act as a buffer against sanctions by the US and EU against China’s security law as it cements the role of Hong Kong in the 11 cities that make up the GBA.

29 Jun 2020 - 11:42PM

Bank of China (BOC)

Editorial | Warning for all after investors skid badly in oil futures market

A derivatives trading platform set up by the Bank of China has resulted in huge losses for many small players

4 May 2020 - 11:17PM

Banking & finance

China’s hole from plunging oil shows shortcomings in risk control

Several state-owned lenders have paused the sale of similar financial products for their retail customers, exposing the deficiencies in China’s 22.2 trillion yuan wealth management industry, where regulations and investor protection measures fail to keep up with a rapidly growing industry.

2 May 2020 - 11:30AM

A trader on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 9, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Banking & finance

Oil’s epic crash burns Asia’s retail investors caught off guard

Investors are being rattled because of a rarely used but very important detail in the WTI contract: anyone holding futures after they expire could be forced to take delivery of crude in the US oil hub of Cushing, Oklahoma. For the May contract, that expiration happened Tuesday night.

23 Apr 2020 - 11:50AM

A refinery in Jingmen in central China's Hubei province on December 8, 2006. Photo: Reuters

Banking & finance

China’s first-quarter bad loans climb as Covid-19 pandemic leaves its mark

Chinese banks are bracing for an unprecedented drop in profits this year as they grapple with the fallout of Covid-19.

22 Apr 2020 - 12:46PM

Dealing with debt

Chinese banks brace for bad debt blowout as pandemic takes toll on debtors

Bank of Communication expects non-performing loan level this year to ‘rebound’ from 2019, as coronavirus hit borrowers’ financial health

28 Mar 2020 - 10:11PM

Jobs

Citi, Morgan Stanley join HSBC in hitting ‘pause’ on job cuts

The need for steep cuts at European banks is more acute, where such measures are a major plank in their plans to restore lacklustre profitability or bolster shareholder payouts. At the same time, they’re now set to receive unprecedented help from governments and regulators, making it more politically sensitive to put people out of work.

27 Mar 2020 - 12:11PM

A woman walking by a money exchange shop decorated with currency notes of different countries at Central, a business district in Hong Kong on August 6, 2019. Photo AFP

Banking & finance

China keeps bank credits on tap to help companies survive outbreak

The joint press conference, also attended by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is the latest round of state support to prevent the world’s second-largest economy from going into a tailspin.

15 Feb 2020 - 11:35PM

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong says banks are profitable, defying doomsday prediction

The assessment would be a rebuff of the dire prediction by short-seller Kyle Bass, the hedge fund manager who had been forecasting Hong Kong’s “full-fledged banking crisis” in 2020, much like the financial crisis encountered by Iceland and Ireland a decade ago, according to a Bloomberg report.

17 Jan 2020 - 10:50PM

HSBC

HSBC, Hang Seng keep nearly a dozen outlets closed after vandalism

Expression of opinions should be ‘conducted in a peaceful manner, without affecting the public’s access to banking services’, HKMA says

2 Jan 2020 - 10:44PMvideocam

Fire being lit at HSBC’s branch in Wan Chai during the New Year's Day march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front on January 1. Photo: Dickson Lee

Banking & finance

Hong Kong shuts record number of banks as protests paralyse city

The troubling sign of so many bank branches closing in one of Asia’s most important financial hubs occurred as protesters used bricks to smash the glass facade of the Bank of Communications’ branch on Pedder Street in Central.

13 Nov 2019 - 7:13PM

Bricks are spread on a road in Central on Wednesday, deterring taxis and other vehicles on what is normally a busy street. Photo: May Tse

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s virtual banks in talks to gain access to 2,000 ATMs

Hong Kong’s eight virtual banks are in talks with the city’s dominant operator of ATMs to give customers of branchless banks access to more than 2,000 ATMs across the urban centre.

4 Nov 2019 - 12:35PM

Banking & finance

Good times may be over for China’s banks as margins are squeezed

The squeeze on profitability underscores how China’s financial industry is grappling with survival after more than 12 months of a bruising trade war with the United States, amid slowing demand for loans and investments in the local economy’s slowest quarterly growth pace in decades.

4 Nov 2019 - 11:17AM

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s banks in a vice as they cut rates amid economic slump

HSBC and Standard Chartered are lowering their key prime rates in Hong Kong for the first time since November 2008 to support local businesses, renewing pressure on margins in a city that has crashed into recession.

31 Oct 2019 - 9:10PM

HSBC did not react to two rate cuts by the HKMA in September and August this year. Photo: Winson Wong

Banking & finance

Asian banks need radical changes to survive economic slump

Non-bank players putting ‘significant pressure’ on business models for lenders in Asia, according to McKinsey, with lenders needing to seek scale to boost margins

22 Oct 2019 - 9:39AMvideocam

The atmosphere in Glodok, Jakarta's Chinatown, on September 2, 2019.Photo: Agoes Rudianto

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong’s banks sign on to HKMA’s lifeline for small businesses

Small businesses that each employ fewer than 50 people are bearing the brunt of the economic aftermath of Hong Kong’s worst political crisis, as the city heads for a technical recession in the fiscal third quarter ending in December.

16 Oct 2019 - 11:01PM

Banking & finance

Nine Hong Kong banks to meet HKMA on easing business loans

The meeting comes on the heels of an announcement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) that it would cut the countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) by 50 basis points, a reduction that would unleash HK$300 billion (US$38 billion) of capital into the city’s economy and financial system.

15 Oct 2019 - 8:48PM

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The Bank of China

Chinese firms in CSI 300 pay a record US$157.2 billion in dividends for 2021

Dividend payments by onshore Chinese companies likely to exceed 1 trillion yuan for financial year 2021 for the first time, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

SFC asks firms to ensure business continuity as mass testing looms

‘Firewalls’ needed to protect China from economic risks, central bank says

Bank of China offers cash bonus on mortgages for green housing

The local unit of China’s third-largest lender is teaming up with developers to reward homebuyers for choosing residential projects with green credentials.

China gets tough on financial sector risk management, extends rules to more firms

Contingency planning has been a requirement for China’s biggest financial institutions for a decade now.

Two of China’s big banks beat estimates with 2020 profit rise

Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China beat analysts estimates with profit increases, thanks to a strong fourth-quarter rebound.

US Treasury takes no action on major banks in Hong Kong sanctions

The move is likely to come as a relief to major lenders and financial institutions such as Bank of China, Citigroup, HSBC and Standard Chartered, that have been trying to distance themselves from those sanctioned officials amid the controversial national security law passed for Hong Kong.

Two Hong Kong banks pocket US$3.2 million in Ant IPO loan fees

HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong), two of the biggest margin lenders for Ant Group’s suspended IPO in Hong Kong, will pocket up to HK$25 million in interest income, after opting not to waive interest charged from customers.

What will China’s digital yuan mean for Alipay and WeChat Pay?

China already boasts more digital mobile payment users than anywhere else on earth, in a US$49 trillion market almost 500 times bigger than in the United States. The People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang wants to hasten the digital transformation of China’s currency and economy.

Brush up on Mandarin, as China’s banks offer tens of thousands of jobs

China’s largest banks have already been leaned on by Beijing to prop up the economy. They’ve been told to pump cash out to small and medium-sized businesses and forgo profits by lowering interest rates and providing relief on trillions of yuan of troubled loans.

With US sanctions looming, China’s banks urged to switch away from SWIFT

US legislation could penalise banks for serving officials who implement the new national security for Hong Kong, including cutting off access to the SWIFT financial messaging service.

The door to China’s wealth market creaks open to the Bay Area

Partial liberalisation of China’s capital control could act as a buffer against sanctions by the US and EU against China’s security law as it cements the role of Hong Kong in the 11 cities that make up the GBA.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Editorial | Warning for all after investors skid badly in oil futures market

A derivatives trading platform set up by the Bank of China has resulted in huge losses for many small players

China’s hole from plunging oil shows shortcomings in risk control

Several state-owned lenders have paused the sale of similar financial products for their retail customers, exposing the deficiencies in China’s 22.2 trillion yuan wealth management industry, where regulations and investor protection measures fail to keep up with a rapidly growing industry.

Oil’s epic crash burns Asia’s retail investors caught off guard

Investors are being rattled because of a rarely used but very important detail in the WTI contract: anyone holding futures after they expire could be forced to take delivery of crude in the US oil hub of Cushing, Oklahoma. For the May contract, that expiration happened Tuesday night.

China’s first-quarter bad loans climb as Covid-19 pandemic leaves its mark

Chinese banks are bracing for an unprecedented drop in profits this year as they grapple with the fallout of Covid-19.

Chinese banks brace for bad debt blowout as pandemic takes toll on debtors

Bank of Communication expects non-performing loan level this year to ‘rebound’ from 2019, as coronavirus hit borrowers’ financial health

Citi, Morgan Stanley join HSBC in hitting ‘pause’ on job cuts

China keeps bank credits on tap to help companies survive outbreak

The joint press conference, also attended by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is the latest round of state support to prevent the world’s second-largest economy from going into a tailspin.

Hong Kong says banks are profitable, defying doomsday prediction

HSBC, Hang Seng keep nearly a dozen outlets closed after vandalism

Expression of opinions should be ‘conducted in a peaceful manner, without affecting the public’s access to banking services’, HKMA says

Hong Kong shuts record number of banks as protests paralyse city

The troubling sign of so many bank branches closing in one of Asia’s most important financial hubs occurred as protesters used bricks to smash the glass facade of the Bank of Communications’ branch on Pedder Street in Central.

Hong Kong’s virtual banks in talks to gain access to 2,000 ATMs

Hong Kong’s eight virtual banks are in talks with the city’s dominant operator of ATMs to give customers of branchless banks access to more than 2,000 ATMs across the urban centre.

Good times may be over for China’s banks as margins are squeezed

The squeeze on profitability underscores how China’s financial industry is grappling with survival after more than 12 months of a bruising trade war with the United States, amid slowing demand for loans and investments in the local economy’s slowest quarterly growth pace in decades.

Hong Kong’s banks in a vice as they cut rates amid economic slump

HSBC and Standard Chartered are lowering their key prime rates in Hong Kong for the first time since November 2008 to support local businesses, renewing pressure on margins in a city that has crashed into recession.

Asian banks need radical changes to survive economic slump

Non-bank players putting ‘significant pressure’ on business models for lenders in Asia, according to McKinsey, with lenders needing to seek scale to boost margins

Hong Kong’s banks sign on to HKMA’s lifeline for small businesses

Small businesses that each employ fewer than 50 people are bearing the brunt of the economic aftermath of Hong Kong’s worst political crisis, as the city heads for a technical recession in the fiscal third quarter ending in December.

Nine Hong Kong banks to meet HKMA on easing business loans

The meeting comes on the heels of an announcement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) that it would cut the countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) by 50 basis points, a reduction that would unleash HK$300 billion (US$38 billion) of capital into the city’s economy and financial system.

Editorial | Warning for all after investors skid badly in oil futures market