The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. has officially become the first Chinese bank to own a controlling interest U.S. bank. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve approved state-owned ICBC’s proposal to acquire an 80 percent stake in the U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia (BEA).
The $140 million deal was first agreed upon early last year but was subject to a long-drawn regulatory approval process. Over the course of the review, concerns were raised regarding ICBC’s capital adequacy and stability but, in its statement approving the deal, the Fed said that it was satisfied with ICBC’s operations and also with the overall regulations in the Chinese banking sector.
