China CITIC Bank (simplified Chinese: 中信银行; traditional Chinese: 中信銀行; pinyin: Zhōng Xìn Yínháng) is China’s seventh-largest lender in terms of total assets. It is was known as CITIC Industrial Bank until it changed its name in August 2005. China CITIC Bank, established in 1987, is a nationally comprehensive and internationally oriented commercial bank. The bank operates in almost 130 countries, and maintains a strong foothold on the mainland banking industry. The bank operates 78 branches in the mainland, and 622 sub-branches, located in economically developed regions of China. In total, there are 773 branch offices in China, as of Q4 2011.
China CITIC Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), with assets of USD 474.73 billion. As of 2006, China CITIC Bank had a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.5% (RMB 11.1 billion). The bank's capital adequacy ratio is 9.1%.
In 1984, the chairman of CITIC group at the time, Rong Yiren, requested that the Chinese government create a banking division under his company, in order to fully embody the needs for foreign exchange. This move was approved by the People's Bank of China, and a banking division was created under CITIC group in April 1985. At this point, the bank was based on the original finance department, expanding its operations regarding external financing, foreign exchange transactions, loans, international settlement, finance leases and deposits. In April 1987, the bank was formally established as a separate legal entity, following approval from the People's Bank of China and the Chinese State Council.