On August 26, BOC held the "Launching Ceremony of RMB-Clearing-Bank in Frankfurt" in the German city. More than 120 representatives from the regulatory authorities and financial institutions of both countries and Fortune Global 500 companies, including Deutsche Bundesbank, Hessian Ministry of Economics, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche B?rse AG, Daimler AG and SAP, attended the launching ceremony.

BOC President Chen Siqing, Chinese Consul General in Frankfurt Liang Jianquan and Deutsche Bundesbank's Clearing Business Director Jochen Metzger delivered speeches at the launching ceremony.

Chen Siqing said in his speech that China and Germany entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing an RMB Clearing Mechanism in Frankfurt when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Germany in March 2014. Under the witness of Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, BOC Chairman Tian Guoli, on behalf of BOC, signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Deutsche B?rse AG, pursuant to which both sides will carry out cooperation in the areas of full clearing membership, custody business cooperation, offshore RMB product clearing and settlement as well as R&D and promotion of RMB-denominated products. Tian Guoli held that "the trade ties and direct investments between the two countries will be enhanced after Frankfurt becomes the offshore RMB center in Continental Europe, which, in turn, will facilitate relations between surrounding countries and China and accelerate the RMB internationalization process.

Chen Siqing expressed that BOC has the confidence and capability to properly perform the duty of an RMB clearing bank in Frankfurt, and is fully prepared in terms of personnel, system, product and process. In May of this year, BOC injected RMB1 billion into Frankfurt Branch to further enhance the latter's capital strength and RMB comprehensive service capability.

Chen Siqing added that bilateral trade between China and Germany has exceeded US$160 billion; and more than 8,000 German enterprises and financial institutions have investments in China, making Germany the EU member with the largest investment in China; meanwhile, more than 2,000 Chinese enterprises have investments in Germany. With Frankfurt Branch designated as an RMB clearing bank in Frankfurt, BOC will seize this opportunity and fully leverage its advantages in cross-border services to provide comprehensive quality RMB financial services for trade and investment activities, and boost faster growth in trade and economic ties between the two countries, building a bridge on the strength of finance for both Chinese and German clients to make investment and develop business.

Consul General Liang Jianquan expressed that the establishment of the RMB clearing mechanism in Frankfurt has indicated the willingness of the two countries to deepen mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. This will be conducive to expanding the cross-border use of RMB in Germany and even other European countries, and have far-reaching influence on China-Europe trade and economic relations. And he believed that Bank of China Frankfurt Branch is fully capable of properly performing its duty as an RMB clearing bank.

Jochen Metzger expressed that BOC has strong capital strength, and its Frankfurt branch, as an RMB clearing bank, will also further consolidate Frankfurt's position in the European RMB market. With the integration of clearing business, RMB foreign exchange trading and credit business, BOC Frankfurt Branch can provide one-stop services in payment, clearing and liquidity management. Deutsche Bundesbank will give its full support to the establishment of an RMB clearing mechanism that adapts to Frankfurt's growth model.

BOC is the world's largest and most professional bank in terms of cross-border RMB business, handling one third of the global RMB cross-border settlement deals, with the total amount exceeding RMB10 trillion. In the first half of 2014, BOC's cross-border clearing volume in RMB soared by 98.7% year on year to RMB112.5 trillion, leading its peers worldwide. At present, BOC has formed relatively sound RMB product lines ranging from deposits, loans to settlement, investment and trading, and established a safe and efficient global RMB payment and clearing network and expressway with sound risk controls with two hubs based in Hong Kong and Shanghai. So far, BOC has opened over 1,100 RMB clearing accounts for its peers from more than 90 countries and over 1.7 million RMB accounts for enterprises and individuals, and maintained the largest global market share by cross-border RMB clearing volume.

Established in 1989, Frankfurt Branch holds the license for comprehensive banking businesses. It is the first Chinese bank set up in Germany with the longest sustained operation, largest asset size, broadest customer base and strongest profitability. With rich experience in clearing, it is also the first Chinese-funded bank directly participating in the Deutsche Mark and Euro clearing systems; and has maintained a leading position among local Chinese-funded banks by Euro clearing volume for many years. Frankfurt Branch is the first to launch cross-border RMB business in the German market. At present, its range of products covers international settlement, trade financing, corporate loans, bond underwriting and financial market. In addition, Frankfurt Branch has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Deutsche B?rse AG, and is the biggest service provider for RMB business in Germany. By the end of 2013, its cross-border RMB clearing volume reached RMB840 billion, ranked first among its peers. On June 19, 2014, People's Bank of China officially announced its authorization to BOC Frankfurt Branch to be the RMB clearing bank in Germany.



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