History
Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, ABC has been formed and abolished several times. On 10 July 1951, two banks of the Republic of China, Farmers Bank of China and Cooperation Bank, merged to form the Agricultural Cooperation Bank, which ABC regards as its ancestor. However, the bank was merged into People's Bank of China, the central bank in 1952. The first bank bearing the name Agricultural Bank of China was founded in 1955, but it was merged into the central bank in 1957. In 1963 the Chinese government formed another agricultural bank which was also merged into the central bank two years later. Today's Agricultural Bank of China was founded in February 1979. As the People's Bank of China began spinning off its commercial banking functions after 1978, ABC's focus on providing farmers with financial services increased.[8]
ABC was restructured to form a holding company called Agricultural Bank of China Limited.[9] It was listed on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges in July 2010.[10]
In 2012, ABC started a project to migrate to the Avaloq Banking System.[11][12]
The Agricultural Bank of China halted business with a North Korean bank accused by the United States of financing Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.[13]
In 2023, the asset management division of Agricultural Bank of China ABC WM together with BNP Paribas Asset Management launched an asset management joint venture. BNP Paribas ABC Wealth is majority owned by BNPP AM (51%), ABC Wealth Management holds 49%. Alexandre Werno became the CEO.[14]
As of 2024, Agricultural Bank of China continues to operate in Russia despite international sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While many Western financial institutions have withdrawn from the Russian market, Chinese banks, including AgBank, have expanded their operations and influence, quadrupling their credit commitments to Russian banks by March 2023.[15] ABC together with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank increased their joint commitment to Russia by $2.2 billion within 14 months of the launch of the Russian attack on Ukraine, reaching 9.7 billion dollars.[16] This financial support, largely conducted in yuan rather than dollars or euros, aligns with Beijing's broader strategy to promote its currency as an alternative to the U.S. dollar. Critics argue that such actions undermine international efforts to isolate Russia economically and indirectly enable its continued aggression against Ukraine.[15][17][18]
