BEIJING, June 8 -- The head of Agricultural Bank
of China (ABC) denied Tuesday reports that the central bank has proposed
breaking up the bank, the feeblest of the country's big banks.
"There is no such proposal to dismantle Agricultural
Bank of China," the bank's president, Yang Mingsheng, told reporters on the
sidelines of banking industry conference in Beijing. Domestic newspapers have
reported that central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan, who also leads the country's
highest-level working group on State bank reform, submitted two plans for
Agricultural Bank of China to the State Council, or Cabinet, on May 9.
The plan favored by Zhou entailed abolishing the
bank's Beijing headquarters and putting its sprawling network of branches under
the control of local entities. The second reform blueprint was similar to those
approved for China's three other big commercial lenders, which have received
State bailouts totaling US$60 billion and will all have completed
multi-billion-dollar listings by the end of 2006.
Yang said various options were still being discussed
for the bank, which has more than US$90 billion in bad loans on its books.
"Agricultural Bank of China is in the process of
making comparative studies," he said.
(Source: Shenzhen Daily)
