Bank Index
Bank of Communications
Universal bank · Shanghai, China
Bank of Communications is China's fifth-largest state-controlled bank, headquartered in Shanghai and designated a global systemically important bank. It reported total assets of 15.55 trillion yuan and net profit of 95.6 billion yuan for 2025 with a core tier 1 ratio of 11.43 percent, the thinnest among the large Chinese banks in this index. It has 24 overseas institutions from Hong Kong, New York and London to Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Prague and a Dubai DIFC branch opened in November 2024. Mainland crypto business is illegal. On 10 December 2025 the PBOC fined it 67.83 million yuan and confiscated 239,821 yuan of illegal gains. The decision, published on 19 December, listed eleven violation types from account management and clearing to treasury accounts and anti-money laundering.
- Legal name
- Bank of Communications Co., Ltd.
- Regulated by
- National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), People's Bank of China, HKMA (Hong Kong branch since 1934), PRA/FCA (London), Federal Reserve (New York and San Francisco), OSFI (Toronto), DFSA (DIFC branch)
- Licence confirmed
- yes, on a regulator's own list
- Established
- 1908
- Website
- www.bankcomm.com
Scores, 0 to 10
7.5Financial strength & stability
G-SIB but core tier 1 ratio only 11.43 percent; no international rating found on the bank's site. · source
7.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export
Trade finance through 24 overseas institutions including Hong Kong, London and New York. · source
6.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts
24 overseas institutions give SWIFT and CIPS reach; margins not published. Cross-border cash management through 24 overseas institutions, smaller than the big four. · source
5.0Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)
Hong Kong branch since 1934 plus Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Taipei. · source
5.0Lowest fees
No English-language corporate fee schedule is published. · source
4.0Best interest on business balances
Corporate deposits pay regulated demand-deposit rates; no treasury sweep product listed. · source
4.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS
Merchant services inside China; the PBOC penalty of December 2025 cited breaches of account management and merchant real-name rules. 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
4.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)
The English corporate site lists 24 overseas offices and settlement services but publishes no Visa or Mastercard business card programme, no virtual cards and no spend controls. · source
3.5Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)
Branches in Luxembourg, Paris, Rome, Prague and Frankfurt are corporate-only. · source
3.5United Kingdom
London branch serves corporate clients only. · source
3.5United States
New York and San Francisco branches serve corporate and trade clients. · source
3.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia
Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Ho Chi Minh City branches serve corporates. · source
3.5Startups & VC-backed companies
Startups face the same in-person onboarding of four to eight weeks. · source
3.5Customer satisfaction
No Trustpilot profile with reviews; PBOC fine of 67.83 million yuan decided 10 December 2025. · 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
3.0Canada
Toronto branch is corporate-only. · source
3.0Middle East & Gulf
DIFC branch opened November 2024 under DFSA regulation, wholesale only. · source
2.5Fast digital onboarding
Four to eight weeks with an in-person visit by the legal representative. · source
2.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank
Payment and crypto firms are restricted by the 2021 PBOC notice; no safeguarding programme. · source
1.0Crypto-friendly bank
Mainland China outlaws cryptocurrency business, and the PBOC notice of 6 February 2026 stretched that to yuan-pegged stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets. · 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
1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business
Mainland financial institutions may not provide accounts or services for virtual-currency business under PBOC notice Yinfa [2026] No. 42, and no Bank of Communications entity, including its Hong Kong branch and BOCOM International, publishes a crypto wallet or custody service. · source
1.0Accept crypto payments
The February 2026 PBOC notice bars mainland banks from clearing and settlement for virtual-currency business, and Bank of Communications offers no crypto acceptance for merchants. · source
1.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat
Exchanging yuan for crypto is illegal financial activity in mainland China under the 6 February 2026 PBOC notice, and the bank publishes no crypto purchase route for companies in its overseas branches. · source
1.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account
The 2026 PBOC notice forbids mainland banks from providing fund transfers for virtual-currency business, so crypto sale proceeds have no sanctioned route into a Bank of Communications account. · source
1.0Bitcoin
The 2026 PBOC notice names bitcoin as a virtual currency that may not circulate as money, and unlike CMB International, BOCOM International has announced no virtual asset dealing service in Hong Kong. · source
1.0Ethereum
Ether is named in the February 2026 PBOC notice as a virtual currency without legal tender status, and no Bank of Communications entity offers ETH trading, holding or staking. · source
1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)
The HKMA stablecoin issuer register checked on 11 September 2026 lists only Anchorpoint and HSBC, and Bank of Communications offers no stablecoin account or payout to business clients. · source
Sources
- Bank of Communications investor relations financial brief
- Bank of Communications results announcement for the year ended 31 December 2025 (HKEX stock code 3328)
- Bank of Communications overseas network
- PBOC administrative penalty disclosure, decisions 96 to 109 of 2025 (Bank of Communications)
- FSB 2025 G-SIB list
- Bank of Communications Wikipedia
- List of largest banks
- China: cryptocurrency ban extended to stablecoins and RWA tokenization, Library of Congress
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.