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BIZCHINA / Center

ICBC reclaims banking crown

By Zhang Lu (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-06 08:40

Following its successful initial public offering (IPO) in October, the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has reclaimed first spot
in this year's Top 100 Chinese Banks.

Bank of China was ranked second in terms of capital strength, according
to The Banker, a British magazine known for its annual publication
ranking the top 1,000 global banks.

China Construction Bank, which topped last year's list after its 2005
IPO, dropped to third.

The Agricultural Bank of China, the last State bank to undergo
restructuring, claimed fourth place.

The Big Four had an aggregated core capital of 1.29 trillion yuan at the
end of 2006, an increase of 69.7 percent over the previous year,
accounting for 77.7 percent of the total held by the top 100 banks, the
report said.

The big banks' pre-tax profit totaled 217.9 billion yuan last year, a
year-on-year increase of 115.1 percent, accounting for 74.7 percent of
the total.

"This shows the extraordinary growth of the Chinese banking sector," said
Stephen Timewell, editor-in-chief of The Banker.

Chinese banks' aggregate profit ratio jumped to 16.9 percent, compared
with 15 percent in last year's listing. The ratio for the world's top
1,000 banks was 22.7 percent, he said.

The second-largest group on the list were the 11 joint-stock banks, led
by Bank of Communications in fifth spot.

They accounted for 15.1 percent of core capital, 19.2 percent of assets
and 19 percent pre-tax profits.

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The list did not include Guangdong Development Bank and China Everbright
Bank, which have not produced full financial results since 2003, Timewell
said.

A few new banks made their way toward the top of the list, including
Beijing Rural Commercial Bank and Bohai Bank, which finished 14th and
19th respectively.

City commercial banks composed the largest group on the list with 65, but
accounted for just 5.4 percent of core capital, 5.6 percent of assets and
4.6 percent of pre-tax profits.

"The latest listing demonstrates the dynamism and growing sophistication
of China's banking sector, which is definitely needed if the economy is
to maintain the current high levels of growth," said Timewell.

"The ranking also represents an important step forward in the level of
disclosure and transparency of the entire Chinese banking system,"
Timewell said.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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