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One of China's 'big four' state banks, historically China's main foreign-exchange and international bank.
One of China's 'big four' state banks, historically China's main foreign-exchange and international bank.
Earns mostly from the spread between interest paid on deposits and charged on loans, with an unusually large overseas network that adds trade finance, foreign-exchange and cross-border fees. Central Huijin, a state investment arm, is the controlling shareholder. These Shanghai shares and the Hong Kong ones are the same bank.
In one line: China's Citigroup, with an FX/international-banking legacy.
Moat: wide (scale, regulatory licence, distribution). Big-four state bank scale with China's deepest international/FX banking network and history.
Headquarters: Beijing, China · Founded: 1912 · Employees: 313,746
Size Bank of China (601988.SS) is a China Financials company (Major Banks) with a market value of $301B, the 6th largest of 4,839 China companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at CN¥6.85 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 19.1%, against +13.5% for the median peer and -16.4% for the China market (cap-weighted) — 5th highest of 21 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue fell 2.6% over the last twelve months (peer median +2.7%); the operating margin is 45.3% (peer median 46.7%).
Valuation It trades at 0.79× book value against a peer median of 1.41× (4th cheapest of 21).
Credit Bank of China has 4 bonds outstanding ($1.30B), rated A by the agencies and trading like A at a weighted spread of 76 bp.
Next results Next results expected around 30 Mar 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | CN¥1.21T | CN¥1.21T | CN¥1.25T | CN¥1.20T | CN¥1.00T |
| Revenue growth | — | -3% | +4% | +20% | — |
| Net income | CN¥249B | CN¥243B | CN¥238B | CN¥232B | CN¥227B |
| Free cash flow | CN¥250B | CN¥250B | CN¥474B | CN¥515B | CN¥499B |
| Capital expenditure | CN¥62.8B | CN¥51.3B | CN¥27.2B | CN¥29.1B | CN¥27.7B |
| Total debt | CN¥9.83T | CN¥8.31T | CN¥7.24T | CN¥6.27T | CN¥5.63T |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | ROE | Price / book | Implied ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of China 601988.SS | $301B | +19% | -3% | 9% | 0.79× | 2.8% |
| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 601398.SS | $428B | +13% | -4% | 10% | 0.75× | 2.7% |
| China Construction Bank 601939.SS | $358B | +20% | -5% | 10% | 0.87× | 3.0% |
| Agricultural Bank of China 601288.SS | $375B | +5% | -4% | 11% | 0.88× | 3.0% |
| Citigroup C | $200B | -5% | +5% | 9% | 1.03× | 10.9% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | 601988.SS | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | +0.6% | +2.6% | 8th lowest of 21 |
| 6-month return | +19.1% | +13.5% | 5th highest of 21 |
| Return on equity | 9.1% | 12.8% | 2nd lowest of 21 |
| Price / book | 0.79× | 1.41× | 4th cheapest of 21 |
| Trailing P/E | 9.4× | 11.5× | 8th cheapest of 20 |
| ROE the price implies | 2.8% | 12.1% | 2nd least demanding of 21 |
| Bond spread | 76 bp | 92 bp | 5th tightest of 12 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | ROE | Price / book | Implied ROE | Delivered ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of China 601988.SS | China | $301B | +19% | -3% | 9% | 0.79× | 2.8% | n/a |
| HSBC HSBA.L | United Kingdom | $301B | -1% | -4% | 14% | 1.51× | 17.5% | 13.6% |
| Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO | Canada | $281B | +15% | +5% | 16% | 2.94× | 18.4% | 16.2% |
| Bank of America BAC | United States | $341B | -3% | -1% | 11% | 1.26× | 12.9% | 10.7% |
| China Construction Bank 601939.SS | China | $358B | +20% | -5% | 10% | 0.87× | 3.0% | 9.8% |
| Wells Fargo WFC | United States | $252B | +11% | +6% | 13% | 1.59× | 13.3% | 12.9% |
| CCB 0939.HK | Hong Kong | $361B | +22% | +6% | 10% | 0.64× | 5.1% | 9.9% |
| Agricultural Bank of China 601288.SS | China | $375B | +5% | -4% | 11% | 0.88× | 3.0% | n/a |
| Mitsubishi Ufj Financial 8306.T | Japan | $230B | +14% | +11% | 13% | 1.60× | 11.2% | 12.6% |
| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 601398.SS | China | $428B | +13% | -4% | 10% | 0.75× | 2.7% | n/a |
| ICBC 1398.HK | Hong Kong | $433B | +14% | -5% | 9% | 0.60× | 4.9% | n/a |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO | Canada | $208B | +18% | -11% | 13% | 2.48× | 15.3% | 12.8% |
| Citigroup C | United States | $200B | -5% | +5% | 9% | 1.03× | 10.9% | 9.1% |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX | Australia | $194B | +9% | +1% | 14% | 3.56× | 33.3% | 13.9% |
| Banco Santander SAN.MC | Spain | $174B | +4% | +15% | 13% | 1.40× | 17.1% | 13.1% |
| Cm Bank 3968.HK | Hong Kong | $165B | +16% | +3% | 13% | 0.99× | 10.2% | 13.3% |
| China Merchants Bank 600036.SS | China | $164B | +12% | +9% | 14% | 0.94× | 5.4% | 13.6% |
| DBS D05.SI | Singapore | $155B | +19% | -5% | 16% | 2.83× | 21.4% | 16.3% |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial 8316.T | Japan | $145B | +35% | +11% | 11% | 1.42× | 10.0% | 11.2% |
| Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria BBVA.MC | Spain | $140B | +20% | +9% | 20% | 2.15× | 24.8% | 19.6% |
| UniCredit UCG.MI | Italy | $130B | +6% | +2% | 17% | 1.77× | 25.8% | 17.3% |
Bank of China has 4 bonds outstanding with $1.30B face value. The agencies rate it A; its bonds trade like A. Weighted yield 5.23%, a spread of 76 bp over government bonds.