RBS: Investor relations - Announcements

RBS: Investor relations - Announcements: "Bank of China, the second largest of China's big four banks, was established in 1912. It traditionally focused on trade-related activities such as trade finance and foreign exchange, where it still has leading market shares. In 1994, Bank of China was converted from a specialised trade bank to a broadly-based state-owned commercial bank.

In Mainland China, Bank of China has 11,307 branches and market shares of 12% of loans and 14% of deposits. Bank of China has branches throughout Mainland China, but its activities are concentrated in the large cities in eastern China. Bank of China's brand appeals in particular to affluent personal customers and large corporate customers.

Bank of China is the most internationalised bank in China. It has subsidiaries in 27 countries including a strong presence in Hong Kong, where its subsidiary Bank of China Hong Kong has already been restructured and partially floated. The value of the 66% of Bank of China Hong Kong owned by Bank of China is $14.8 billion.

In 2004, Bank of China's total income was $12.6 billion. At the end of 2004, its assets amounted to $516 billion and its net asset value stood at $24.8 billion. Income, assets and net asset value are stated on a PRC GAAP basis. Bank of China has about 238,000 employees."