No plans to break up ABC

The country's fourth largest lender, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), will not be broken up despite earlier reports, Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan told Bloomberg. Although the bank has the worst asset quality of the big four state banks, Beijing does not intend to dismantle the bank and transfer branches to provincial or urban governments, as state media reported over the weekend. And, while the government has not yet agreed on a plan to reorganize the lender, it is looking for ways to restructure ABC and help it shed US$93 billion in non-performing loans. ABC accounts for 12% of China's US$4.7 trillion in banking assets.