Gucci seeks 4 million sanction against Bank of China

The American branch of luxury company Gucci has asked a US judge to hold Bank of China (BoC) in contempt for failing to comply with a court order to turn over documents related to a counterfeiting case.
In papers filed Tuesday, Gucci, Chloe SAS and Alfred Dunhill, claimed that BoC had refused to surrender records of [...]

Former BoC managers sentenced for stealing millions in Las Vegas

Two former Bank of China (BoC) managers and their wives received jail sentences Wednesday for a long-running scheme to steal US$485 million from the bank and launder it through Las Vegas casinos and US bank accounts.
US District BoC managers Xu Chaofan, and Xu Guojun were both sentenced to over 20 years in prison. Their wives, [...]

Bank of China Q1 net profit drops 14%

Bank of China said its first quarter net profit fell 14% year-on-year to US$2.7 billion due to declines in interest and fee-based income.
The lender, the smallest of the mainland’s state-run banks, saw net interest income fall by 9.8% on a yearly basis to US$5.4 billion. Outstanding loans grew 16% during the first quarter, bringing the [...]

Bank of China gives up on Rothschild deal

Bank of China (BoC) has abandoned efforts to purchase a 20% stake in French private bank Financière Edmond de Rothschild after the deal failed to win regulatory approval before a deadline expired.
The March 31 deadline already represented a three-month extension on the original cutoff point, but there was still no word from the China Banking [...]

Bank of China Q4 profit plummets 59%

Bank of China (BoC) said its fourth quarter net profit dropped 59% year-on-year to US$646.8 million as the global economic crisis hit the lender’s overseas investments.
The bank’s full-year income rose by 14% to US$9.4 billion. The fourth quarter decline – following a 32% gain in the first nine months of the year – indicates that [...]

China Minsheng eyes Europe partner, share placement

China Minsheng Bank, the country’s first private sector lender, is in discussions with European financial firms over the sale of a minority stake.
Minsheng is effectively looking for a replacement for Temasek, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, which sold off the remainder of its holding in the second quarter of 2008. Apparently Temasek, which already has [...]

Temasek to hold Bank of China stake in H1

The investment arm of the Singapore government, Temasek, will not sell its shares in Bank of China (BOC) through at least the first half of the year.
In an interview given with the Shanghai Securities News on Saturday, BOC chairman Xiao Gang said the Chinese lender had received assurances that Temasek would not cut any of [...]

CIC to continue buying shares in Big 3 banks

China Investment Corp (CIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will continue to buy shares in the three major state-owned banks to help them withstand selling pressure. Wang Jianxi, CIC’s executive vice president and chief risk officer, committed to supporting the banks in comments made on the sidelines of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) [...]

RBS consider to offload China operations

Beleaguered Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said on Wednesday that it may sell most of its banking operations in China. The UK lender, which reported the largest annual loss in British history in 2008 and has been partly nationalized by the British government, sold its 4.26% strategic stake in Bank of China for US$2.34 billion [...]

China Life not to bid for AIA

China Life Insurance Company (China Life) will not bid for the American International Assurance Company (AIA), the Asian life insurance unit of beleaguered American International Group (AIG). The Chinese insurer said it decided not to pursue the opportunity because of a decline in AIA’s assets, business conditions, staff and prestige of the brand. Bank of [...]