China designates RMB clearinghouse in NYC

China’s central bank has designated an official RMB clearing and settlement bank for New York City, according to the Financial Times, filling in the final major gap in a network of offshore institutions designed to promote greater international use of the RMB. The People’s Bank of China chose the New York City branch of Bank of China as the official clearing bank, the bank said. The designation adds to a roster of Chinese state-owned banks that serve the same function in Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Frankfurt, Paris, Johannesburg and Sydney, among other locations. Bank of China’s New York branch is the largest Chinese branch of a foreign bank in the US with more than $50bn in assets and settlements of international payments equivalent to a quarter of all US-China trade.