History
CCB was founded on 1 October 1954 under the name of People's Construction Bank of China, and later changed to China Construction Bank on 26 March 1996. It was established to focus on financing for investments, in the context of the People's Bank of China beginning to spin off its commercial banking functions.[2]
In January 2002, CCB chairman Wang Xuebing resigned from the bank after being charged with accepting bribes while he was employed with Bank of China; he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In March 2005, his successor, Zhang Enzhao, resigned for "personal reasons". Just prior to his resignation, he had been charged in a lawsuit with accepting a US$1 million bribe. He was later sentenced to 15 years in jail in connection with the case.[3][4]
China Construction Bank Corporation was formed as a joint-stock commercial bank in September 2004 as a result of a separation procedure undertaken by its predecessor, China Construction Bank, under the PRC Company Law. Following the China Banking Regulatory Committee's approval on 14 September 2004, the next day the bank (Jianyin) became a separate legal entity, owned by the Chinese government holding company, Central Huijin Investment Company or simply Huijin.
During the 2013 Korean crisis, the China Construction Bank halted business with a North Korean bank accused by the United States of financing Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.[5]
In 2015, China Construction Bank ranks the 2nd in Forbes ' 13th annual Global 2000 ranking of the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world.[6]
In 2021, China Construction Bank ranks the 3rd largest bank around the world in Forbes' 2021 Global 2000 list.[7] It ranks 5th in Forbes' 2022 Global 2000 list.
In 2022, CCB announced the creation of a 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) fund, plans to invest in real estate projects and turn them into affordable rental houses. This is part of China's initiative to support the real estate sector. Another initiative in the same year was an 80 billion yuan ($11.4 billion) fund to help real estate developers, of which China Construction Bank contributed 50 billion yuan ($7 billion).[8]
At a time when the general trend was for Chinese banks to decrease their business with Russia due to the sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, China Construction Bank expanded its business in Russia.[9][10]
In July 2024, Reuters reported China Construction Bank would cut the salary of its staff at its headquarters by 10% with deeper salary cuts for higher-ranking employees, in line of the common prosperity agenda promoted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.[11]
