ICBC

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China(ICBC) is a Chinese government owned bank operating in China and overseas. It is regarded as largest bank in the world with respect to market value. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China operates through 65 domestic branches, 17 foreign branches and 4 foreign representative offices. ICBC was ranked #42 in 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list
Principal activities of ICBC is its consumer and commercial banking services. Electronic banking and ATM services are also offered to its clients. Other banking products offered by ICBC include overseas study loans and credit cards. Tzong-Yeong Lin is present Chairman of ICBC.

Brief history
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was established as a limited company on 1st January, 1984. It inherited all commercial and industrial credits as well as savings businesses from its parent, People’s Bank of China. ICBC is currently listed in Hong Kong (SEHK: 1398) and Shanghai (SSE: 601398) stock exchanges.

Products and services
ICBC provides professional and diversified financial services to personal and corporate clients. Its personal finance business include deposits and financing. Home loans and personal loans are given by bank. Clients are also granted loans to purchase shares, overseas financing and fund optimization. Foreign currency financing is available. ICBC funds businesses to make them globally competitive and for improving their operating efficiency.

ICBC is largest credit card issuer in China. A variety of credit cards like Peony Express business card, Euro credit card and Peony Sports card are offered by this bank. As of 2007, ICBC has issued more than 200 million credit cards. It has 150 million retail customers and 2.5 million corporate clients. Bank services are available over Internet.

Financials
Market capitalization of ICBC is USD 277.514 billion or RMB 1.898 trillion in 2008. This Chinese finance giant clocked USD 20.188 billion in revenues (2005). Operating income stood at RMB 256.029 billion. Total assets amounted to RMB 8,689 billion (2007).

Awards and recognition
ICBC has received a number of awards from both domestic and foreign banking circles. It won various honors like ‘Best Bank in China’ and ‘Best Management Company in China’ from magazines like Bankers and Finance Asia. ICBC has achieved Moody’s long term credit ranking of ‘A1’ and Standard and Poor’s ‘A+’.

Current financial crisis
ICBC did not suffer any major financial setbacks in financial crisis of 2008. This is due to higher deposits compared to its peer global banks. ICBC has a USD 1 trillion deposit finance for 2008. In fact, amidst this financial crisis, ICBC opened its New York, USA branch on 17th October, 2008.