Bailouts coming for ICBC and ABC

The central government said it would bail out Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) which started the year with 29% of its loan book in non performing loans. China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China (BOC) received similar bailouts earlier this year. Vice-Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said it was inevitable that all four big state banks would need cash injections, though what form these would take for ICBC and ABC had yet to be decided. He said tighter governance would be introduced along with cash injections. Lou declined to say when the government would move, but action could be imminent for its therapeutic affect on 2004's books.