Bank of China

Universal bank · Beijing, China

Bank of China is the most international of China's big four state banks. At the end of 2025 it had 533 overseas institutions in 64 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland, including 45 Belt and Road partner countries, and those institutions held 8,938,198 million yuan of assets. Its Hong Kong subsidiary is one of the territory's three note-issuing banks and Bank of China (Canada) runs 10 branches with commercial accounts. The group reported profit for the year of 257,936 million yuan for 2025, of which 243,021 million yuan was attributable to shareholders, and overseas commercial banking plus overseas comprehensive operations produced 27.99 percent of profit before income tax. Mainland crypto business is illegal. The National Financial Regulatory Administration fined it 97.9 million yuan in October 2025 for imprudent management of governance, lending and interbank business.

Legal name: Bank of China Limited
Regulated by: National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), People's Bank of China, HKMA (Bank of China (Hong Kong)), PRA/FCA (Bank of China (UK) Ltd), Federal Reserve and NYDFS (Bank of China USA), OSFI (Bank of China (Canada))
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1912
Website: www.boc.cn

Scores, 0 to 10

9.0Financial strength & stability

G-SIB rated A by S&P, A1 by Moody's and A by Fitch, with a common equity tier 1 ratio of 12.53 percent and a total capital adequacy ratio of 18.85 percent at the end of 2025. · source

8.5Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Trade settlement and letters of credit through 533 overseas institutions in 64 countries and regions, with 16 overseas RMB clearing banks and a reported lead in international trade settlement. · source

7.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Historically China's state-designated specialised foreign exchange and trade bank, now with 533 overseas institutions in 64 countries and regions and a reported domestic lead in foreign exchange settlement and sales; margins are not published. Overseas institutions in 64 countries and regions held 8,938,198 million yuan of assets at the end of 2025, and overseas commercial banking held USD 656.206 billion of customer deposits, which supports multi-currency cash management. · source

7.0Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Bank of China (Hong Kong) is a note-issuing bank; further operations in Japan, Korea, Australia and Singapore. · source

5.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Operations in France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Hungary and Ireland serve corporates; no local SME accounts. · source

5.0Canada

Bank of China (Canada) has 10 branches offering commercial accounts, but no Interac-level SME franchise. · source

5.0Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Overseas institutions reach 45 Belt and Road partner countries, and Bank of China Turkey opened its Ankara branch in October 2025. The Americas and Africa together held 679,706 million yuan of assets, 7.6 percent of the overseas book. · source

5.0Lowest fees

No English-language corporate fee schedule is published; pricing follows regulated Chinese tariffs. · source

4.5United Kingdom

Bank of China (UK) Ltd serves corporates and Chinese-linked clients rather than mainstream UK SMEs. · source

4.5United States

Bank of China USA branches serve corporate and trade clients. · source

4.0Best interest on business balances

Corporate deposits pay regulated demand-deposit rates; no treasury sweep product is listed. · source

4.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Merchant services in China and Hong Kong; no cross-border collection accounts for foreign marketplaces. A foreign software company must set up a Chinese entity with separate RMB basic, foreign currency capital and settlement accounts under SAFE rules, and the bank's English corporate pages list no API, Stripe or accounting integrations. · source

4.0Customer satisfaction

No Trustpilot profile with reviews; fined 97.9 million yuan by the NFRA in October 2025. · source

4.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

Bank of China's English corporate pages describe deposit products in ten currencies but publish no Visa or Mastercard business card programme, no virtual cards and no spend controls. · source

3.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Startups face the same in-person onboarding of four to eight weeks. · source

3.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

A foreign-invested enterprise needs a Chinese business licence and the legal representative must be physically present in China for account opening; remote or proxy applications are not accepted and the process takes four to eight weeks. · source

3.0Fast digital onboarding

Four to eight weeks with an in-person visit by the legal representative in China; Canada and Hong Kong subsidiaries onboard locally. · source

2.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Payment and crypto firms are restricted by the 2021 PBOC notice; no safeguarding programme. · source

2.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Group joint venture BOCI-Prudential Trustee has been custodian and fund administrator for Hong Kong spot bitcoin and ether ETFs since April 2024, but that serves fund issuers only; Bank of China offers no crypto wallet or custody to companies. · source

2.0Bitcoin

The group's only published bitcoin role is BOCI-Prudential Trustee acting as custodian of Hong Kong spot bitcoin ETFs from April 2024; there is no bitcoin buying, holding or transfer for business clients. · source

2.0Ethereum

BOCI-Prudential Trustee has been custodian of Hong Kong spot ether ETFs since April 2024, but no Bank of China entity offers ether trading, custody or staking to companies. · source

1.0Crypto-friendly bank

Notice Yinfa [2026] No. 42, led by the PBOC and in force since 6 February 2026, keeps virtual-currency business illegal in mainland China, and financial institutions may not provide accounts, transfers, clearing or settlement for it. · source

1.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Article 303 of China's Criminal Law and the 2005 judicial interpretation make running a gambling house, a gambling website or an online betting agency a crime, and banks may not move funds to gambling sites, so licensed iGaming, casino and similar operators cannot be banked onshore. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

PBOC notice Yinfa [2026] No. 42 of 6 February 2026 bars mainland financial institutions from providing accounts, transfers, clearing or settlement for virtual-currency business, and Bank of China has no crypto acceptance product. · source

1.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Fiat to crypto exchange is illegal financial activity in mainland China under the February 2026 PBOC notice, and no Bank of China entity publishes a crypto purchase service for business clients. · source

1.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

The February 2026 PBOC notice forbids mainland banks from settling funds for virtual-currency business, so proceeds from crypto sales have no sanctioned route into a Bank of China account. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Bank of China (Hong Kong) said in 2025 it would apply for a stablecoin issuer licence, but the HKMA register checked on 11 September 2026 lists only Anchorpoint and HSBC, and BOC offers no stablecoin service to business clients. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.