The bank had a good year, keeping profits high and bad loans low. But the big challenges of the 2020s start now.

As the death toll rises, China’s big state lenders are being forced to shutter branches and Beijing has reacted by disbursing loans to afflicted companies – but the sector is also hit by slowing credit growth and a sharp rise in NPLs.

Investors are buying into ICBC’s business growth in diverse areas such as asset management and investment banking.

Numbers are solid and money is flowing into the system, but ICBC must avoid the temptation to drift from its conservative approach to risk.

After a lot of provisioning and restructuring, CEE banks have returns on equity that others can only dream about.

China’s latest effort to curb shadow banking involves applying Basel standards on banks: they must disclose far more of their exposure to previously unidentified counterparties. It’s good for the industry, but what does it mean for individual mainland banks?

With NPLs under control, focus must be on sustainable growth

In the 10 years since ICBC’s $5.5 billion acquisition of a 20% stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, there has still been no bigger single China-Africa investment. Looking back now, the deal was remarkable for the speed and relative ease with which it came together. But has it worked?

ICBC Standard Bank is an interesting institution. It is a legacy of ICBC’s landmark acquisition of a 20% stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank 10 years ago. In 2015, ICBC acquired a controlling stake in Standard Bank’s London-based global markets business. Today it stands as a financial markets and commodities bank serving ICBC clients’ global markets needs, with a separate business in the distribution of African risk. Still London-based, it focuses on global commodities, fixed income, currencies and equities.

At the vanguard of the funding effort for the Belt and Road Initiative will be China’s state-owned commercial banks. All eyes are upon them and their lending practices. Will they be expected to pour funds into projects with a tenuous economic rationale in the interests of state policy? Or will they instead be able to assess BRI projects as they would any other enterprise, with a weighing up of risk and return and a commercial decision at the end of it?

Results index Global All transactions 2016 2015 Bank Score 1 2 HSBC 6548 2 3 Citi 3830 3 1 Deutsche Bank 3116 4 13 Bank of New York Mellon 1728 5 14 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 1536 6 8 JPMorgan 1534 7 5 Commerzbank 1359 8 4 Bank of America Merrill Lynch 1339 9 6 Standard Chartered 1305 10 7 Barclays 1303 11 9 Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ 1209 12 32 Industrial & Commercial Bank of China 1057 13 45 DBS Bank 1045 14 12 Wells Fargo 823 15 11 Bank of China 817 16 19 Societe Generale 721 17 18 Mizuho Bank 692 18 16 UniCredit 607 19 21 ADCB 605 20 15 RBS 535 21 10 BNP Paribas Fortis 504 22 Cathay United Bank 501 23 22 Yapi Kredi 355 24 UOB 352 25 ANZ Banking Group 340 26 23 ING Group 265 27 35= Agricultural Bank of China 251 28 29 Akbank 250 29 17 RZB 223 30 137= Bank Mandiri 218 31 42 Arab Bank 194 32 39 Bank of Communications 193 33 28 UBS 189 34 ATF Bank 188 35 208= Bank Central Asia 182 36 BNI 46 162 37 CIMB 156 38 38 Danske Bank 152 39 65= Banco BPI 144 40 208= Bangkok Bank 132 41 Siam Commercial Bank 126 42 40 Credit Agricole 122 43 34 BBVA 118 44 Hang Seng 116 45 41 Lloyds 114 46= 27 Garanti Bank 110 46= 74= Bancolombia 110 48 Bank Danamon 107 49 NAB 106 50 Bank of Nanjing 103

ICBC chairman receives Euromoney's 2015 award for outstanding contribution to global financial services.

Banking giant Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has delivered stellar first-quarter results for 2014 and is now looking to further its global expansion in cash management and cross-border services. Vice president Zheng Wanchun describes strategies for a period of challenge and opportunity in an exclusive interview with Euromoney

The renminbi has risen dramatically as a world payments and trade-settlement currency in the past three years. According to the Chinese bank ICBC, it could become a mainstream international currency as soon as 2017.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s European headquarters in Luxembourg City is a prime piece of real estate.

Mega International Commercial Bank in Taiwan has revealed it is ready to merge if government policy calls for greater industry consolidation

In 2011, the CNH market achieved a hectic graduation from nascent wild-west-style market to something approaching maturity and depth. The clearest illustration of this came with a Rmb1.5 billion [$240 million] subordinated bond from ICBC (Asia), owned by mainland banking heavyweight ICBC.

Mary MacLeod jumped companies and cultures to join ICBC International as deputy CEO – and became the most powerful foreign banker in China, with an eye on global dominance. The pressure is on, but MacLeod isn’t showing it... yet.

ICBC’s announcement that it will undertake a three-pronged assault on the equity markets in order to bolster its capital base is a warning signal for China’s banking sector.

China’s ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by market capitalization, has been granted a licence to operate in the Qatar Financial Centre. This is ICBC’s first outlet in the Gulf, although in September 2007 the bank’s president indicated that a branch was planned for Dubai. Activities at the Qatar branch will include wholesale and investment banking, as well as asset management, consulting and trust services.

The flotation of the Chinese bank overcame the hazards of a simultaneous dual listing to attract enormous demand worldwide – but it was, perhaps, at too high a price.

As the dust settles on the epic $21.9 billion capital-raising from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the long-term lessons of the deal – the first simultaneous offer on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges – are being considered.