The first bank-backed Chinese trust firm was established in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, on Sunday, Securities Daily reported (in Chinese). Bank of Communications (BOCOM), which had bought 85% of the struggling Hubei International Trust and Investment Company from the province's finance department, finished restructuring the company to form the new firm, called BOCOM-International Trust. Chinese commercial banks had been barred from making trust investments until the end of last year, when the China Banking Regulatory Commission lifted regulations to encourage financial institutions to acquire trust firms.