CITIC Ka Wah Bank to merge into China CITIC Bank

May 12, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China CITIC Bank Corp<601998><0998>, the listed banking unit of the nation's top financial conglomerate CITIC Group, will merge with CITIC Ka Wah Bank (CKWB), a division of CITIC International Financial Holdings (CIFH), said Cao Tong, vice president of CITIC Bank in a conference call on Monday.

The speech was made after CITIC Bank announced its plan to acquire a 70.32% stake in CITIC International Financial Holdings (CIFH) for HK$13.56 billion as part of its effort to tap overseas financial markets.

Cao said that if the deal receives shareholder approval, the merger will be conducted after CITIC Bank finishes the acquisition of CIFH and that CKWB will keep independent operation after the integration.

The name of CKWB will remain unchanged for the time being and will likely be changed to CITIC Bank International when time is right, according to the vice president.

At the end of last year, CKWB's outstanding loans stood at HK$73.4 billion, while its outstanding deposits reached HK$99.5 billion.

Its non-performing loans (NPL) were HK$1.38 billion at the end of 2008, and its NPL ratio was 1.89%.

CITIC Ka Wah Bank, which focuses on real estate and business loans, has approximately 30 branches in Hong Kong, as well as branches in Beijing, Los Angeles, Macau, New York, and Shanghai.