The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, replacing the Qing Dynasty's Ta-Ching Government Bank. It has been the second oldest bank in China still in existence after the Bank of Communications, founded in 1908. From its establishment until 1942, it issued banknotes on behalf of the Government along with the "Big Four" banks of the period: the Farmers Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Central Bank of the Republic of China. After the People's Republic was established in 1949, it has become a national commercial and foreign exchange professional bank. Its original central bank designation was carried on by the newly formed People's Bank of China.[7]
As of 31 December 2019, it was the second-largest lender in China overall and ninth-largest bank in the world by market capitalization value,[8] and it is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. As of the end of 2020, it was the fourth-largest bank in the world in terms of total assets, ranked after the other three Chinese banks.[9]
The Bank of China is legally separate from its subsidiary the Bank of China (Hong Kong), although they maintain close relations in management and administration and co-operate in several areas including reselling BOC's insurance and securities services.
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