Bank of China Limited (BOC)
Bank of China Limited (BOC) is the oldest of China’s four largest state-owned banks, founded in February 1912. Headquartered in Beijing, BOC provides a wide array of financial services, including commercial and investment banking, asset management, insurance, and foreign exchange transactions, both domestically and internationally. With over 306,000 employees and offices in more than fifty locations worldwide, BOC boasts the largest international presence among Chinese banks. Its pivotal role in China's economy was solidified when it became a fully state-owned entity in 1994, specializing in foreign exchange services.
Historically, BOC has played a significant part in China's financial infrastructure, evolving from a central bank to an international exchange bank. The bank has been instrumental in facilitating international trade, particularly since the late 1970s, when China began incorporating foreign investment and technology into its economy. Notably, BOC is recognized for its architectural landmark, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, designed by I. M. Pei. As of 2022, BOC held assets worth approximately $4.12 trillion and generated substantial revenue, reflecting its critical role in both the Chinese and global banking landscapes.
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Subject Terms
Bank of China Limited (BOC)
- Date founded: 1912
- Industry: Banking; financial services
- Corporate Headquarters: Beijing, China
- Type: Public
Overview
The Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) is the oldest of the four largest state-owned banks headquartered in China. It provides a range of services both domestically within the People’s Republic of China and abroad. These services include commercial and investment banking, investments and investment management, insurance, fund management, foreign exchange transactions, asset and liability management, and commercial equipment leasing. The bank employed more than 308,703 people in 2023 in offices in mainland China and more than fifty other locations around the world. This includes primary offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, as well as offices in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Russia, Hungary, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, South Africa, Zambia, Canada, and the United States. Bank of China has the largest international presence of any of the main Chinese banks and is the country’s only bank specializing in foreign currency transactions, a role it has held since the 1940s.
History
The Bank of China was founded in February 1912, becoming the country’s first central national bank. It replaced the Daqing Hubu Bank, which had been established seven years earlier in 1905. Its formation was approved by Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China, which was also established in 1912. Sun is revered as the father of his country. He established the bank with the goal of providing a public service to the people of China and strengthening its economic status by improving the nation’s financial services.
In its first decades, the bank fulfilled a number of different purposes. It was China’s central bank from its establishment until 1928. It then gained government approval to become an international exchange bank. By 1942, it was chosen by the state to specialize in China’s international trading, leading to a new focus on the development of a financial infrastructure. This allowed the bank to facilitate international trade, trade settlements, and foreign exchange, bolstering China’s foreign trade.
Between 1945 and 1949, after the defeat of Japan in World War II, China was involved in a bloody civil war between nationalist and communist military forces. In 1949, the communist forces led by Mao Zedong prevailed. Mao established the communist People's Republic of China, and the government took control of the Bank of China. For a time, the bank was under the same leadership of another state-run bank, the People’s Bank of China. This combined bank also split, with a portion of it moving to Taiwan under the leadership of the nationalist Kuomintang government.
During the late 1970s, China embarked on a state-sanctioned mission of incorporating international funding and foreign technology into its economy. The Bank of China played a key role in this by becoming the main source of financing for acquiring international assets. In 1979, the bank was formally separated from the People’s Bank of China and was responsible for the administration of foreign exchange under the supervision of China’s state council. This eventually led to it becoming a fully state-owned entity in 1994, with specialized responsibility for all foreign exchange-related banking services. However, the bank continued to maintain a relationship with the People’s Bank of China, especially in insurance and securities and some levels of management. The BOC joined the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank as the nation’s fourth largest state-owned banking institutions.
The bank became incorporated in 2004, which allowed the addition of strategic investors chosen to help improve the bank’s internal operations. Also in 2004, the Bank of China was selected to serve as the partner bank for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. By 2006, it was listed on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, becoming the first Chinese bank to have such a dual listing. In 2024, its largest shareholder was Central Huijin Investment Limited, a company owned by the Chinese government.
The Bank of China has a number of subsidiaries. These include Bank of China International Holding, specializing in investment banking; Bank of China Insurance Group Ltd. and Bank of China Group Insurance Company Ltd., which handle insurance-related business; and Bank of China Group Investment Ltd. and Bank of China Investment Management Company, Ltd., which focus on investments and fund management, respectively. Another controlled subsidiary, Bank of China Aviation Ltd., addresses the company’s aviation leasing services.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which first emerged in late 2019 and early 2020 and caused global economic turmoil, the bank slowly began to recover throughout 2021 and 2022. However, China's uneven economic recovery during this time, which was dampened by the government's strict "zero COVID" policy, which used mass testing and frequent lockdowns to control outbreaks of the disease, complicated the bank's efforts to restore its pre-COVID levels of growth. While the government abandoned its zero COVID policy in November 2022, short-term forecasts on the Chinese banking industry remained largely negative during the first half of 2023. By 2024 and 2025, slowing loan growth and a slowing economy presented new challenges for China's banking sector.
Impact
The Bank of China plays a key role in China’s efforts to build its status on the global stage. It is the country’s most diverse banking institution with the largest international presence, making it a powerful part of the international banking environment. The Chinese government relies on the activities of the Bank of China to help strengthen and revitalize the country’s economy and national status. In 2025, the company held assets worth over $3 trillion and brought in $87.83 billion in revenue in 2023.
The building that houses the bank’s Hong Kong headquarters is also a noted work of modern architecture. The building, which resembles a stylized bamboo stalk, was designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei. Pei also designed New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center and the famed glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum in France.
The Bank of China Tower, as the building was named, was constructed on a small, angular plot of land near historic Victoria Harbor. Pei overcame numerous challenges imposed by the site, strict safety requirements, and government agreements with other nearby buildings to create the 1,205-foot (367-meter) glass tower that some have called one of the world’s most innovative skyscrapers. At the time of its completion in 1989, it was the tallest building outside of the United States and the fourth tallest in the entire world. It became one of the city’s most iconic landmarks and represented China’s emerging presence in the world outside of the country’s mainland.
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