The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was recently listed as one of the world's top ten banks by a well-known financial magazine.
According to the Britain-based Banker magazine, the bank ranks seventh on a list of the world's commercial banks in terms of tier- one capital, three places higher than last year.
The ICBC is the only Chinese bank in the top ten this year.
According to the Basel Agreement, tier-one capital, an index to show a certain bank's capital strength and ability to resist financial risks, should account for at least half of the bank's total capital.
When the ICBC was founded in 1984, its tier-one capital totaled 18 billion yuan and its overall capital stood at 200 billion yuan. After 17 years' development, its tier-one capital has increased by ten times and its total capital by 19 times. The abundant funds possessed by the ICBC play an important role in China's efforts to resist financial risk and promote economic development.
(People's Daily 07/19/2001)
