ICBC registers over $158.7B in cross-border RMB business

ICBC registered over US$158.7 billion or RMB 1 trillion in cross-border RMB business by end-2011.

Its RMB settlements accounted fornearly RMB 700 billion, jumping nearly five-fold.

Furthermore, the bank has opened 276 RMB current accounts for other banks, ranking No.1 among the peers with a clearing network spanning 55 countries/regions.

Being a large bank engaged in RMB service, ICBC has a unique advantage to launch and promote cross-border RMB services, said industry insiders. ICBC is the world's largest bank in terms of total RMB assets and settlement volume. The Bank ensures abundant supply of RMB funds to customers and offers competitive market prices, backed by its financial strength in RMB capital.

Aggressive programs on service innovation have been initiated in line with the customer requirements. So far, ICBC has concluded the world's first fund-raising in RMB for an overseas project, the first cross-border RMB leasing project, underwritten the first RMB-denominated bonds in Hong Kong issued by a Taiwanese firm.

ICBC is also the first-mover in the yuan's internationalization drive. At present, ICBC has a comprehensive portfolio of cross-border RMB products oriented to customer demand covering many business segments: retail banking, fund clearing, trade finance, global cash management, professionalfinancing, investment banking, bank card, internet banking and asset management.

While promoting the use of RMB in cross-border transactions, ICBC leverages its global network to extend its RMB services to customers around the world. By end-2011, ICBC had a global network of 239 overseas branches spanning 33 countries/regions with full business license, highly efficient operation and excellent services.