Bank of America and China Construction Bank have reached an agreement to jointly enter into a new leasing business. The new stand-alone entity will be China’s first joint agreement between a foreign investor and Chinese bank to launch a financial leasing company. BoA will acquire 24.9 percent of the new company, which is expected to launch by early 2008. The plan has been approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The company will initially focus on leasing new or used equipment and facilities to customers in China’s power generation and transmission and rail industries. It will also focus on finance leasing, taking fixed deposits of one year or more from shareholders, accepting leasing deposit from lessees, transferring rental receivables to commercial banks, issuing financial bonds upon approval, providing inter-bank loans, obtaining loans from financial institutions, obtaining foreign exchange loans from overseas, selling and disposing of residual value of leased items, economic consulting and any other business approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

This is the fourth customer program offered jointly by the two banks following the successful launch of their free ATM withdrawal, remittance services and joint credit card venture. In June 2005, Bank of America became a 9 percent shareholder of CCB and began providing advice and assistance to CCB in such areas as consumer banking, treasury services, governance and risk management designed to enhance the Chinese bank’s performance.

• Postal Savings Bank Gets Approval
• China Approves Registration of 9 Foreign-Funded Banks
• Key Statistics on China’s Banking Industry, 2006
• TSYS Increases Equity Stake In China UnionPay Data
• Bank of America, China Construction Bank to Collaborate on Credit Card Business
• Citi to Open Lending Companies in Rural China
• New Regulations on Foreign-Funded Banks
• Bank of China Opens New London Branch