China Banking Milestones. From 1980 to 2007.
2006-2007 l 2005 l 2004 l 2003 & Earlier

2006-2007

• 2007—China’s agreement with WTO will allow foreign banking institutions to issue local-currency cards on their own.
• End of 2006—Foreign banks will be allowed into the Renminbi bank card business as part of China’s WTO commitments.
• November 11, 2006—The State Council of PRC issues new regulations on foreign-funded banks in the Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-Funded Banks, which take effect on December 11, 2006. Foreign banks which incoporate their operations in China will be allowed to offer commercial banking services comparable to domestic banks to any customer, regardless of their nationality.
• May 1, 2006—ICBC Friday completed the sale of the stake to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), German insurer Allianz AG (AZ), and U.S. financial-services group American Express Co. (AXP) for about $3.8 billion (Market Watch, 05/01/2006).
• April 29, 2006—Bank of China, the second-biggest lender on the Chinese mainland, received approval to sell its US$8 billion initial public offering. The bank plans to start trading in Hong Kong on June 1 (Shanghai Daily 04/29/06).
• April 26, 2006—CBRC has issued new guidelines giving the nod to commercial banks to invest public's money in overseas financial markets. Commercial banks can now pool domestic yuan deposits from both individuals and institutions and convert them into foreign exchange to invest in fixed-income investment products abroad (China Daily, 04/26/06).
• April 21, 2006—CBA, Australia's second-largest bank by market capitalization, will invest A$7.7 million (US$5.6 million) for a 46% stake in the joint venture, while Cinda will invest the equivalent of A$9.3 million for a 54% stake, the Australian lender. (Market Watch, 04/21/06).
• April 21, 2006—Chinese regulators gave their approval for Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., and Sal Oppenheim Jr & Cie. (OPP.YY) to acquire a combined 13.98% stake in Hua Xia Bank Co. the mid-sized Chinese lender (Market Watch 04/21/06).
• April 19, 2006—The government allows domestic banks to invest in financial assets outside the mainland (Shenzhen Daily 04/19/06).
• April 17, 2006 —The government issued joint regulations that for domestic institutional investors to invest abroad and relax controls on domestic firms and individuals buying foreign exchange.
• April 3, 2006—Citic International Financial Holdings Ltd., controlled by China's biggest investment firm, plans to buy a stake in its parent's Beijing-based lender for HK$5.54 billion (US$715 million) (Bloomberg 04/03/06).
• March 27, 2006—Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) issued 10 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) worth of renminbi-denominated financing products (Xinhuanet 03/27/06).
• March 27, 2006—Citibank on Monday launched a new consumer-banking outlet in Beijing, the 12th on China's mainland (Xinhuanet 03/27/06)
• March 24, 2006—China decided to issue 40 billion yuan (5 billion U.S. dollars) worth of bearers' treasury bonds in April. The T-bonds, the second batch of its kind issued this year, have terms of maturity of three or five years, said the ministry of Finance (Xinhua 03/24/06)
• March 21, 2006—Hang Seng Bank claimed Tuesday that it has become the first overseas bank to receive approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to establish a branch in Dongguan of Hong Kong's neighboring Guangdong Province (Xinhuanet 03/21/06).March 16, 2006—China began to issue 33 billion yuan (4.12 billion US dollar) worth of book-entry treasury bonds with terms of maturity of three months (Xinhua net, 03/16/06)
• March 18, 2006—Goldman Sachs has entered a strategic cooperation agreement with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to carry out the cooperation in different areas such as risk management, assets management, investment banking and training (Xinhuanet 03/18/06).
• March 16, 2006—The Asian Development Bank (ADB), through its Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund from the British Government, is supporting the establishment of micro-credit institutions in China (03/16/06).
• March 14, 2006—A consortium including Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) plans to apply this month for regulatory approval to launch a Chinese funds management joint venture (03/14/06).
• March 10, 2006—The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has chosen Merril Lynch and four other investment banks as the underwriters for its 10 billion U.S. dollar initial public offering (IPO) (Xinhuanet 03/10/06).
• March 10, 2006—China's national social security fund has signed a deal with the Bank of China (BOC) to buy a five percent stake in the state-owned commercial bank.
• March 9, 2006—China Merchants Bank Co (CMB) will establish a new branch in New York, which will be its first banking arm overseas (Xinhuanet 03/09/06).
• March 6, 2006—Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) announced the launch of personal Renminbi (RMB) check service for its customers when they travel to the Chinese mainland (Xinhuanet 03/06/06).
• March 1, 2006—China government has reiterated plans to make its capital account basically convertible in the near future.
• March 1, 2006—Canada's largest bank, the Royal Bank (RBC) Canada, announced the opening of its China branch on Beijing Financial Street ((Xinhuanet 03/01/06).
• February 27, 2006—China Merchants Bank Co. is planning an initial public offering worth 10 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.3 billion) in Hong Kong in June, and has hired UBS AG and China International Capital Corp. to be lead underwriters on the deal (Hearldnews Daily 02/27/06).
• February 23, 2006—In attempts to aid ongoing restructuring, China will allow foreign investors to own equity stakes of up to 25 per cent in rural financial institutions, seeking their expertise and capital (Xinhuanet 02/23/06).
• February 22, 2006—Royal Bank of Canada (RY: TSX; NYSE) today announced that it has received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to upgrade its Representative Office in Beijing to a branch (CNW 02/22/06).
• February 21, 2006—State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, plans to upgrade its Shanghai representative office into a branch company this April, making it the first Indian bank to open its branch in China (Xinhuanet 02/21/06).
• February 20, 2006 —Top Shanghai-listed lender China Merchants Bank is set to gain control of a fund venture co-invested by Dutch financial giant ING. Merchants bank had agreed to take a 30.1 percent stake from a sister company and a clutch of state-run firms, making it the fund's largest shareholder (Xinhuanet 02/20/06).
• February 17, 2006—China has decided to issue 60 billion yuan (7.5 billion US dollar) worth of certificate treasury bonds with terms of maturity of up to five years next month, the first batch of of its kind to be issued this year (Xinhuanet 02/17/06).
• February 17, 2006—Temasek Holdings Ltd., the investment arm of the Singaporean government, has revealed it has already purchased a five percent stake in the Bank of China for 1.52 billion USD (Xinhuanet 02/17/06).
• February, 16, 2006—Citigroup Inc. won approval from shareholders of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co to increase its stake in the Chinese lender to 19.99% (Xinhuanet 02/16/06).
• February 16, 2006—ABN Amro Bank had received approval for an additional $US 100 million quota under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program (Xinhuanet 02/16/06).
• February 9, 2006—China Development Bank and China Everbright Bank completed the country's first RMB interest rate swap transaction here Thursday (Xinhuanet 02/09/06).
• February 9, 2006—State-owned China Great Wall Asset Management Co. is waiting for the government to approve its transformation to an investment bank type of institution (Shenzhen Daily/Agencies 02/09/06).
• February 9, 2006—Export-Import Bank of China will borrow US$260 million from nine banks to support expanding trade financing and overseas investment by Chinese companies (Xinhuanet 02/09/06).
• February 6, 2006—Two new rules for the rising electronic banking (e-banking) business issued by China's banking watchdog will take effect on March 1 this year, in line with international regulations (Xinhuanet 02/06/06).
• January 27, 2006—A consortium led by Citigroup bid nearly $3 billion for a majority stake in the struggling midsized lender, based in the southern province of Guangdong. Citigroup's offer would net it a stake of between 40% and 45%, with U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group taking a 10% stake (USA Today 1/27/06) .
• January 27, 2006—Goldman Sachs, American Express, and Allianz will pay 3.78 billion dollars for a 10 percent stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (AFP 01/27/06)
• January 27, 2006—ICBC announced the founding of a $248 billion yuan ($30.6 billion) joint-stock company, equally owned by the Ministry of Finance and the government-owned Central Huijin Investment Co. (USA Today 1/27/06).
• January 26, 2006—China plans to expand foreign eligible investors to include trust firms, pension funds, charity funds, endowment funds, and government investment firms in its domestic stock and bond markets (Business News 01/26/06).
• January 24, 2006—The Chinese government has decided to regulate the country’s real estate mortgage evaluation sector to reduce loan risks in the banking sector. (Xinhuanet 01/24/06).
• January 24, 2006—China Minsheng Bank Corp Ltd said its board approved a proposed issue of 4.3 billion yuan in hybrid bonds.  Funds raised will be used to complement the bank’s tier-two capital (AFX News 01/24/06).
• January 20, 2006—Dutch banking group Rabobank is close to finalizing a deal to take a 14.9% stake in Hangzhou Cooperative Bank (China Economic Review 1/20/06).
• January 13, 2006—The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said all the 117 city commercial banks in the country will have to comply with the requirement to publish their annual financial statements for 2005 this year (AFX News Ltd. 01/13/06).
• January 9, 2006—Bank of China (BoC) has been approved from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for a $4 billion IPO in Hong Kong (businessweek.com 01/09/06).
• January 6, 2006—Chinese investors, including the central bank, held $247.6 billion of U.S. Treasuries at the end of October, according to U.S. Treasury Department data, which amounts to more U.S. Treasury notes than any other foreign country except Japan (Bloomberg.com 01/06/06).
• January 6, 2006—Scotiabank plans to upgrade its representative office in Shanghai, the base for most multinational companies doing business in China, to a full-service branch.  It will be the first Canadian bank to operate in China’s financial capital (CBS News 01/06/06).
• January 5, 2006—Several state-owned shareholders of Pudong Bank have agreed to sell their holdings to Shanghai International Group Co. Ltd., a Shanghai government’s major investment arm. The Shanghai International will be the largest shareholder of Pudong Development Bank with a 21.44 % stake (Reuters 01/05/06).
• January 5, 2006—Shanghai Industry Development Co. of Shanghai- based Pudong bank said it plans to sell its 1.57% stake for the equivalent of US$41.9 million.  Citigroup Inc. will increase its stake in the bank to 19.9% (Associated Press 01/05/06).
• January 4, 2006—Swiss Bank UBS has agreed to buy a 1.6% stake of Bank of China  (Bloomberg 01/04/06).
• January, 2006—Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings is reported to have received approval to take a 5% stake in Bank of China (Bloomberg 01/04/06).
  
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2005

• End of 2005—Non-performing loans owed to China's commercial banks were reduced to an all-time low of 8.9 percent at the end of 2005, from 13.2 percent in 2004, according to the publication from the People's Bank of China (Xinahua net, 03/06/06)
• 2005—The country had approved 32 qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) to invest a total of US$5.645 billion in yuan-denominated shares and bonds by the end of 2005, From January to November last year, QFIIs received investment quotas totaling US$2.07 billion.
• End of 2005—CBRC figures showed in 2005, 1,228 banking supervisors at all levels withdrew their investment in financial organizations totaling 84.06 million yuan (about 10 million U.S. dollars) amid the nationwide anti-corruption campaign (Xinhuanet).
• December 21, 2005—London's Barclay's Bank will open its first branch in Shanghai.
• December 14, 2005—Citigroup Inc. has put in the highest bid for Guangdong Development Bank, offering to pay about $1.5 billion for up to an unprecedented 50 percent stake. (Crienglish.com 12/15/05)
• December 9, 2005—SHANGHAI-SVB Financial Group, the parent company of California-based Silicon Valley Bank opened its first China subsidiary in Shanghai (chinatechnews.com 12/09/2005).
• December 7, 2005—ABN AMRO Holdings, the biggest Dutch bank, has won regulatory clearance to set up China's first foreign-invested futures venture with Galaxy Securities. (Bloomberg 12/07/05)
• December 7, 2005—Mellon Financial buys NPL package from China Orient Asset Management Corporation. The portfolio comprises loans taken out by 284 companies based in China's central Shaanxi province.  (CRIOnline 12/07/05)
• December 7, 2005—Chinese government lowered the minimum required capital for operating domestic companies. The new law also allows as much as 70% of the total registered capital to be in non-cash assets such as intellectual property or technology.  (worldbank.org, 12/07/05)
• December 6, 2005—ANZ Banking Group, Australia's third-largest bank will invest US$120 million ($167 million) for a 19.9 per cent stake in Tianjin City Commercial Bank. (New Zealand Herald 12/06/05)
• December 5, 2005—China plans to relax the minimum operating capital foreign bank branches from 500 million yuan ($62 million) to 400 million yuan ($50 million) in conducting business in Chinese currency by the end of 2006. (Newsday.com 12/05/05)
• November 16, 2005—Cal-Asia member companies, including Wells Fargo, Cisco and Sun, met with senior representatives of 20 Chinese banks in Beijing in a meeting coordinated by California Commission on Jobs and attended by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  A luncheon for the bankers sponsored by Cal-Asia and Squire Sanders & Dempsey follows.
• November 14, 2005—Deutsche Bank AG has signed a broad strategic cooperation agreement with Hua Xia Bank. The two banks will set up a joint committee to work on bad debt disposals, syndication loans, direct financing, electronic banking, and other services. (Dow Jones 11/14/05)
• November 1, 2005— HSBC Investments has obtained approval to establish a joint venture fund management company in China with Shanxi Trust and Investment Corporation Limited (Jintrust).  The new company will be headquartered in Shanghai and capitalised at 200 million RMB ($24.7 million) (Morningstar.net 11/01/05).
• October 28, 2005—ICBC was transformed into a joint-stock company, a step closer toward its planned market listing.   The new company, named the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, will assume all business and relevant assets and debts of the former ICBC, with registered capital of 248 billion yuan (30.6 billion US dollars) (www.xinhuanetonline.com, 10/28/05).
• October 27, 2005—China Construction Bank’s IPO yielded some $8 billion in the U.S.  CCB's stock was priced at 1.95 times its expected book value for 2005.(Morningstar.com 10/27/05).
• October 7, 2005—AIG Private Bank opened in Shanghai (Economist 10/7/2005).
• October 7, 2005—Rabobank Group, the world's largest agricultural lender, plans to acquire a 14.9% stake in a co-operative bank in the Chinese city of Tianjin. (The Star 10/07/2005).
• October 6, 2005—The Habib Bank Limited opened a representative office in Beijing, in response to increasing Chinese business activities in Pakistan( Dawn 10/07/05).
• September 28, 2005—General Electric Co. plans to buy a 7 percent stake in China's Shenzhen Development Bank at a value about $100 million (Bloomberg 09/28/05)
• September 25, 2005—China Construction Bank (CCB) has secured approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for its proposed listing (Forbes.com 09/25/05)
• September 23, 2005—BNP Paribas, the second-largest bank in France, intended to buy around 20% Nanjing City Commercial Bank for just under $100 million (Forbes.com 09/23/05).
• September 13, 2005—Citibank and China's Union Pay form strategic partnership (china-embassy.org 09/13/05)
• September 3, 2005—China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd, the country's first private bank, said the China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved its planned listing of up to 1.34 bln shares in Hong Kong. (CRIOnline 09/03/05).
• August 18, 2005—Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has spent $1.6bn on 5% of state-owned Bank of China (Guardian 08/18/05).
• August 12— Bank of Communications Starts China Fund Venture with Schroders (Bloomberg 08/12/05).
• August 2005— Korea's State-run Korea Development Bank opens its first branch in Guangzhou (Kpmg.com.hk 08/12/05).
• July 21, 2005—The central bank revalued the yuan 2.1 percent and began managing it against a basket of currencies. The daily limit of 0.3 percent on fluctuations against the dollar was retained (Bloomberg 07/26/05).
• July 12, 2005—Bangkok Bank obtained approval to upgrade its office in Beijing to a full branch. (Business Day, Bangkok 07/12/05)
• June 16, 2005—Bank of America agrees to buy a 9% stake in CCB for $2.5 billion and become the largest single foreign investment in China’s banking sector. (Wall Street Journal 06/16/05)
• May 25, 2005—Bank of Communications, Ltd. in China wins approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange to raise as much as $2 billion for an IPO in June 2005.  It will be the first lender owned by the Chinese government to sell shares overseas.  (Bloomberg 05/25/05).
• May 19, 2005—China increases the amount of foreign currency that companies can buy for investment abroad by 52 percent; as much as $10 million. (Bloomberg 05/24/05)
• May 22, 2005—CSFBCredit Suisse First Boston and a group are set to form the first Sino-foreign venture capital joint venture.  (Financial Times 05/22/05)
• May 9, 2005— HSBC buys a 9.91 per cent stake in Ping An, China’s second-largest life insurer from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for $1.1 billion, putting its total shares at about 19.9 percent (the Chinese legal limit for domestic insurers).  (Unknown 05/09/05)
• April 29, 2005—HSBC opened a sub-branch in Beijing, becoming the first foreign bank to do so. (China Daily 04/29/05).
• April 29, 2005—Woori Bank becomes the first South Korean lender permitted to open office in Puxi, China’s special financial district. (Xinhua Net  04/29/05)
• April 28, 2005—Commonwealth Bank, one of Australia big four commercial banks, announced its second investment in China in less than a year, in acquiring a 19.9 per cent stake in Hangzhou City Commercial Bank for about A$100m (US$78m). (Financial Times 04/28/05)
• April 20, 2005—China's stock market regulator approved a proposal by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) to raise up to 6 billion yuan (US$724.64 million) by selling new shares. (Shenzhen Daily 04/20/05).
• April 09, 2005—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group plans to purchase a 5 percent equity stake in Bank of Beijing. The investment would mark IFC’s sixth equity investment in China’s banking sector. (press release on ifc.org 04 /09/05)
• March 25, 2005— The Dutch banking and insurance group ING acquired 19.9 percent of the shares of Bank of Beijing, formerly known as Beijing Commercial Bank, on March 25 for 1.78 billion yuan (about 215 million US dollars) (China People’s Daily 11/04/05).
• March 24, 2005—NG Grope NV is set to announce the acquisition of a 19.9% stake in Bank of Beijing on Friday for about 1.7 billion yuan ($205.4 million). (Wall Street Journal 03/24/05)
• March 11, 2005—Industrial & Commerce Bank of China (ICBC) appointed China International Capital to advice on a reorganization of its $640 billion of assets. (Internal Herald Tribune 03/11/05).
• January 14, 2005—A new company, the Central Huijin Investment Co., was inaugurated as major shareholders of Bank of China and China Construction Bank . Managed by the current department heads of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the company's major goal is to supervise the restructuring of the two banks. (People's Daily 01/14/05)
• January 1, 2005—Foreign banks and financial institutions are required to submit their reserve funds to local PBOC branches. Henceforth they are allowed to apply to PBOC for permission to use reserve fund during liquidity crisis. (PBOC 11/10/04)
  
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2004

• End of 2004—By the end of 2004, the BOC and CCB raise their capital adequacy ratios (CARs) to 8.62 and 11.95 percent respectively. (People’s Daily Online 03/07/05).
• December 29, 2004—Under Chinese monetary rules, RMB cards were allowed to be used to extract cash in local currency in Korea, Thailand, and Singapore, the first time ever for the card to be used outside of China. (Xinhua News 02/11/04)
• December 29, 2004—CBRC issued the guidelines on Administration of Market Risk, which applied all commercial banks in the PRC. (O’Melveny and Meyers 12/29/04)
• November 17, 2004—China’s central bank announced that new laws governing the transfer of personal wealth. Chinese citizens emigrating overseas will be able to legally convert their personal assets into foreign currency and transfer them out of China. (China Daily 11/17/04)
• November 17, 2004—Citigroup announced a US$1.5 million grant to support microfinance projects in China to offer loans to Chinese farmers. (China Daily 11/17/04).
• November 10, 2004—PBC released a new rule to regulate foreign exchange reserve requirements for financial institutions. (PBOC 11/10/04)
• November 5, 2004— The International Monetary Fund published its staff report for 2004 Article IV consultation on China. It’s the first time since China resumed its legal status in the organization in 1980 (Eastday.com 11/05/04).
• November, 2004—Rabobank Asia bought a 24.9% stake in Hangzhou Rural Credit Cooperative Union, in the city of Hangzhou., joining with the IFC.  (The Star 10/7/05).
• End of October 2004            PBC announced its first interest rate increase in nine years at the end of October. (China Daily 11/09/04)
• October 27, 2004—London-based Barclays Bank has won approval to invest US$75 million in China’s main stock and debt markets (Shenzhen Daily10/27/04 ).
• October 27, 2004       —Chinese financial authorities have announced a plan to authorize international finance organizations to issue RMB-denominated bonds. The International Finance Corporation is expected to issue some 120 million US dollars worth of debt denominated in Chinese yuan. (china.org.cn 10/27/04)
• October 27, 2004—The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), allows subsidiaries of Chinese and foreign multinationals to borrow foreign exchange funds from their peers, both within China and across the border.  (China Daily 10/27/04)
• October 2004—By October 2004, 62 foreign banks were operating in China. These institutions account for only 1.8 percent of total banking assets (FSC).
• September 2004—China Construction Bank established a joint stock listing vehicle following the split up of the institution in two parts. (China Daily 12/01/04).
• September 2004—The China Everbright Bank started schedule the selling of its yuan-based personal wealth management plans (China Daily 11/16/04).
• August 2004—Bank of China reorganized itself into a joint stock company following the establishment of the Bank of China Limited (China Daily 12/01/04).
• August 18, 2004—HSBC has completed its acquisition of a 19.9 per cent interest in Bank of Communications Limited. (HSBC archive).
• July 15, 2004—100 foreign banking institutions have been approved to conduct RMB business, in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Dalian, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Fuzhou, and Wuhan. (CCG 07/15/04)
• February 2004—HSBC became the first foreign bank allowed to provide RMB services to domestic customers following China’s accession into WTO (FSC).
  
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2003 and Earlier

• December 27, 2003 – the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress approved at its Sixth Meeting the amendment to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China, which has strengthened the role of the PBC in the making and implementation of monetary policy, in safeguarding the overall financial stability and in the provision of financial services (PBOC homepage).
• December 2003—The State Council decided to implement a pilot project to transform the Bank of China and China Construction Bank into stock companies. Bank of China and China Construction Bank received a US$45 million bail-out from the government. The central government planned to turn them into joint stock banks. (China Daily 12/01/03).
• June 13, 2003—The central bank issues rules to tighten up on property loans, especially to developers of high-end housing and luxury villa projects.  The reserve ratio of banks was raised by 1% from 7% from September 21, 2003.  (thebanker.com 06/13/03)
• April 2003—The China Banking Regulatory Commission is created to oversee reform and regulation of the banking sector, allowing the PBOC to focus on monetary policy.
• December 1, 2002—Foreign-funded banks were allowed to do RMB business in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Nanjing and Wuhan. (CCG 07/2004)
• May 2002—PBC had issued the Guidelines on Shareholding Commercial Banks Management, asking the commercial banks to restructure their internal management based on the guidelines (China Banking Industry Development Report 2003).
• May 2002—PBC issued the Temporary Principles on Information Release of Commercial Banks
• February 2002—The National Finance Conference decided that the State-Owned Banks can be transformed into shareholding banks.
• January 2002—China released the Rules for Implementing the Regulations Governing Foreign Financial Institutions in the People’s Republic of China. (CCG 07/2004)
• Jan 1, 2002—All loans of commercial banks have been categorized into five levels to monitor the quality of the loans (China Banking Industry Development Report 2003).
• December 11, 2001—China entered WTO. Client restriction on foreign currency business was lifted. China agreed to open its state-bank dominated auto financing market to foreign competition as part of its entry into the World Trade Organization (CCG 07/2004)
• January 1999 —The PBOC abolishes provincial and municipal branches and creates nine regional banks each responsible for several provinces.
• 1999—China’s four State-owned asset management companies (AMCs) China Huarong, China Cinda, China Orient and China Great Wall were set up and took over a total of 1.4 trillion yuan (US$168 billion) in non-performing loans (NPLs) from the nation’s four State-owned commercial banks (FSC).
• August 1999—Approval was given for the establishment of eight more foreign banks, and thus, twenty-five foreign banks were allowed to undertake RMB business (FSC).
• March 1999—The geographical restrictions on foreign banks relaxed, and they were allowed to operate in nearly all major cities (FSC).
• 1998—Credit ceilings for the SOBs were abandoned in favor of asset-liability management principles.
• March 1995—The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Law) was passed, legally confirming the PBOC as Central Bank (PBOC homepage).
• 1998—A special government bond issued in the amount of Yuan billion, with an annual coupon rate of 7.2%, was then purchased by the commercial banks with funds freed up by the lowering of the reserve requirement (FSC).
• 1997—PBC gave its approval for nine foreign banks operating in the Pudong district of Shanghai to engage in RMB business on a trail basis (FSC).
• January 1996—Minsheng Bank was established as China’s first bank that had private shareholders (FSC).
• 1995—A new Commercial Banking Law (CBL) was issued, emphasized the need for financial institutions to incorporate commercial criteria into their lending practices.
• 1996—PBC allowed several foreign banks to conduct RMB business on trial basis in Shanghai and Shenzhen (FSC).
• 1994—China’s current exchange rate system was created. (China Daily 10/ 13/04)
• 1994—Three policy banks were established so that the four specialized banks were freed from concentrate on more commercially oriented lending (FSC ).
• March 1993—Shanghai’s Pudong District banks were allowed to set up branches in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and eleven other cities (FSC).
• April 1991—the Shenzhen Development Bank went public in Shenzhen and became China’s first listed bank (FSC).
• 1987—The Bank of Communications was restructured and became China’s first joint-stock commercial bank (FSC).
• September 1983—The State Council, China's ultimate decision-making body, formally designates the PBOC as the nation's central bank. Located in Beijing, the head office has 13 functional and five supporting departments (PROC homepage).
• July 1981—Nanyang Commercial Bank (Hong Kong) established a branch in Shenzhen and became China’s first business organization operated by foreign banks (FSC).
• 1980—Chinese government has held annual consultations with the IMF since 1980 (Eastday.com 11/06/04).
  
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