In the award presentation ceremony of Global Finance magazine’s “2008 Best Chinese Banks and Companies” award programme on March 5th, CCB was won “Consumer Bank Award”, “Bank in Mortgage Loan Award” and “Domestic Bank in Trade Finance Award”, making it the Chinese bank receiving the most awards.

Since its shareholding reform and listing, CCB has been adopting a customer focussed operating philosophy in offering comprehensive financial services to its customers and its various businesses have seen rapid yet stable development. In particular, there has been remarkable uplifting of its integrative service capability in providing personal customer, mortgage loan and trade financing businesses. This has led to substantial increases in its profitability and market competitiveness while its key financial indicators remained ahead of China’s banking sector, winning it high acclaims in the international capital market.

CCB has long committed to providing customers with the most advanced financial services in China. As at June 30th 2007, it has 157 million active personal deposit accounts while the balances of its personal loans and deposits were respectively RMB680.6 and RMB2,305.5 billion. In the first half of 2007, the operating income from CCB’s personal banking business was RMB32.21 billion or 32.4% of the total operating income. There are 16,000 personal account managers who are responsible for providing products and services such as residential housing financing, personal consumption loans, personal business starting loans, bank cards, personal deposits, etc. As at June 30th 2007, CCB has issued 211 million bank cards, making it the leader among the four major state-owned commercial banks in terms of the cumulative number of credit cards issued. In addition, CCB is also offering to its personal customers such products and services in fee-based business as personal financial management, personal settlements and agency sales of securities, etc.  In the first half of 2007, the size of its fund agency sales business reached RMB75.9 billion, which was a surge of 793.3% over the same period in the previous year and the highest rate of increase in the industry.

As a pioneer in mortgage loan business in China’s financial sector, CCB is devoted to helping the general public realise their home ownership dream and is the first bank in China in launching a residential housing loan business and in undertaking housing provident fund operations. CCB is currently also the largest domestic bank in the residential housing loan business and “For your own housing, go CCB hunting” is already a household slogan in China. As at June 30th 2007, CCB’ s shares in housing provident fund deposits and loans were respectively 57.5% and 50.9%, while its residential mortgage loan balance was RMB474 billion or a 21.7% share, the highest in the banking industry.

In recent years, CCB has achieved rapid development in its trade financing business.  It has been relentless in strengthening its customer service capability in the area of trade financing and in redoubling its innovative efforts. All told, it is providing customers with 20 short-term and five medium-to-long term trade financing products and is the first bank domestically to launch innovative products such as “Direct Export Factoring” and “Resell Financing of Receivables under Export Credit Insurance", etc.  At the same time, due emphasis is given to the control of financing risks, so much so that it is the first bank to adopt pricing tools to achieve optimal balance in risks and returns. From October 2006 to September 2007, CCB was able to maintain an average acceleration of 45% in its trade financing business, the highest rate of increase among China’s major state-owned commercial banks.

Global Finance is an international renowned finance magazine from the US and, with its readership comprising mainly senior executives from commercial banks, securities firms, multinationals and industry specific consultancies, it has much influence in the banking industry. Every year, it would invite independent third-party specialists and industrial pundits to run its series of award programmes. In May 2007, CCB was named “2007 Best Chinese Bank” by the magazine.