Bank of East Asia
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The Bank of East Asia Limited (traditional Chinese: 東亞銀行有限公司) (SEHK: 0023,OTCBB: BKEAY) often abbreviated to BEA, is the largest independent local bank and the third largest bank in Hong Kong. Its Chairman and Chief Executive is The Hon Dr David Li Kwok-po.
It was founded in Hong Kong in 1918 and has since grown to a HK$19.4 billion (US$2.5 billion) market capitalization. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as BEA. The Bank of East Asia has more than 100 branches to serve its retail customers in Hong Kong, therefore the bank's cost of interest is also competitive.
In 1995, BEA acquired United Chinese Bank, which was fully merged with the bank in 2001. In 2000 it acquired First Pacific Bank.
[edit] Mainland operations
On 20 May 2008, Bank of East Asia became the first foreign bank to issue yuan-denominated debit cards in mainland China, taking advantage of the recent removal of a key restriction on foreign banks' retail business in the country. The bank would issue the debit cards jointly with China UnionPay, the country’s only bankcard network operator. The launch of debit cards would help attract retail banking customers by giving them greater convenience in accessing their deposits.
[edit] External links
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