Company profile · Finance
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
中国工商银行股份有限公司
ICBC is the largest bank in the world by assets: a state-owned commercial bank founded in 1984 that serves most of China's large companies and hundreds of millions of retail customers, clears a large share of the country's trade finance and renminbi settlement, and operates branches in some 50 countries.
Key facts
Overview
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was carved out of the People's Bank of China in 1984 to take over commercial banking for industry and commerce, was recapitalised and restructured in the 2000s, and listed simultaneously in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2006 in what was then the largest IPO in history. It has been the world's largest bank by total assets since 2013, with the largest customer base, branch network and deposit base in China and a growing international network centred on trade finance, renminbi clearing (it is the designated clearing bank in several countries) and Belt and Road project lending.
For foreign companies ICBC is a trade-finance counterparty (letters of credit, guarantees), a renminbi settlement bank, a lender to Chinese buyers and suppliers, and — through its overseas branches — a bank for their own China-related business.
Market position
Largest bank worldwide by assets, tier-one capital and deposits; one of China's 'big four' state banks with Agricultural Bank, Bank of China and China Construction Bank. Its strength is scale and state backing; its exposure is to Chinese property, local government and policy lending.
Key strengths
- Largest balance sheet and customer base of any bank
- Trade finance and renminbi clearing network abroad
- Relationships with most large Chinese enterprises
- State ownership and systemic status
- Digital banking scale
What the company does
Corporate banking
- Lending and project finance
- Trade finance: letters of credit, guarantees, factoring
- Cash management and treasury
International
- Renminbi clearing and settlement
- Overseas branches and subsidiaries in about 50 countries
- Belt and Road project lending
Retail and wealth
- Deposits, mortgages, cards
- Wealth management and asset management subsidiaries
Present in about 50 countries. Regions: Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa, Middle East. Designated renminbi clearing bank in Singapore, Luxembourg, Doha, Toronto, Bangkok and other centres.
For a foreign counterparty
- Trade-finance capacity
- Letters of credit and guarantees accepted worldwide; deep relationships with Chinese exporters and importers.
- Renminbi services
- Clearing, hedging and settlement in renminbi through its own network.
- Stability
- Systemically important, state-backed and highly capitalised.
Considerations
- Policy role
- Lending follows state priorities; asset quality in property and local-government debt is watched closely.
- Sanctions compliance
- Chinese state banks apply Western sanctions cautiously to protect their dollar access; transactions with sanctioned counterparties may be refused.
- Service model
- Large-corporate focus; small foreign clients may find service slow.
Milestones
- 1984-01 — Established from the commercial banking business of the People's Bank of China
- 2005 — Recapitalised; Goldman Sachs, Allianz and American Express invest
- 2006-10 — Dual IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong, then the largest ever
- 2013 — Becomes the world's largest bank by assets
- 2014 — Designated renminbi clearing bank in Singapore and other centres
- 2024 — Total assets reach about 48.8 trillion yuan
Official site: www.icbc-ltd.com/
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- ICBC 2024 annual report — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (retrieved 6 September 2026)
- Top 1000 World Banks 2025 — The Banker (retrieved 6 September 2026)
- ICBC (1398) filings — Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (retrieved 6 September 2026)
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