The story
History
CCB was founded on 1 October 1954 under the name of People's Construction Bank of China (Chinese: 中国人民建设银行; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiànshè Yínháng), and later changed to China Construction Bank on 26 March 1996. It was established to focus on financing for investments, in the context of the People's Bank of China beginning to spin off its commercial banking functions.
In January 2002, CCB chairman Wang Xuebing resigned from the bank after being charged with accepting bribes while he was employed with Bank of China; he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In March 2005, his successor, Zhang Enzhao, resigned for "personal reasons". Just prior to his resignation, he had been charged in a lawsuit with accepting a US$1 million bribe. He was later sentenced to 15 years in jail in connection with the case.
China Construction Bank Corporation was formed as a joint-stock commercial bank in September 2004 as a result of a separation procedure undertaken by its predecessor, China Construction Bank, under the PRC Company Law. Following the China Banking Regulatory Committee's approval on 14 September 2004, the next day the bank (Jianyin) became a separate legal entity, owned by the Chinese government holding company, Central Huijin Investment Company or simply Huijin.
During the 2013 Korean crisis, the China Construction Bank halted business with a North Korean bank accused by the United States of financing Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.
In 2015, China Construction Bank ranks the 2nd in Forbes13th annual Global 2000 ranking of the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world.
In 2021, China Construction Bank ranks the 3rd largest bank around the world in Forbes' 2021 Global 2000 list. It ranks 5th in Forbes' 2022 Global 2000 list.
In 2022, CCB announced the creation of a 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) fund, plans to invest in real estate projects and turn them into affordable rental houses. This is part of China's initiative to support the real estate sector. Another initiative in the same year was an 80 billion yuan ($11.4 billion) fund to help real estate developers, of which China Construction Bank contributed 50 billion yuan ($7 billion).
At a time when the general trend was for Chinese banks to decrease their business with Russia due to the sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, China Construction Bank expanded its business in Russia.
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In July 2024, Reuters reported China Construction Bank would cut the salary of its staff at its headquarters by 10% with deeper salary cuts for higher-ranking employees, in line of the common prosperity agenda promoted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Investment by Bank of America (2005-2013)
In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction Bank for US$3 billion. It represented the company's largest foray into China's growing banking sector. Bank of America currently has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and sought to expand its Chinese business as a result of this deal.
On or about 5 June 2008, Bank of America purchased 6 billion H-shares for approximately HK$2.42 per share using call options under a formula in the initial acquisition agreement. Bank of America subsequently held about 25.1 billion H-shares, representing about 10.75% of CCB's issued shares, with a commitment not to sell the 6 billion shares that it purchased from Huijin using the call option before 29 August 2011 without prior consent of CCB.
In May 2009, speculation was raised that Bank of America had sold US$7.3 billion worth of CCB shares after being ordered to obtain more capital following the results of the Dodd-Frank Act Annual Stress Test.
On 29 August 2011, Bank of America announced it would sell approximately half its stake in CCB (13.1 billion shares worth about US$8.3 billion) to an undisclosed group of investors.
In September 2013, Bank of America sold its remaining stake in the China Construction Bank for as much as $1.5 billion.
From Wikipedia’s article on China Construction Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3