(2 April 2007 – China) US Bank UCBH Holdings has announced it will acquire Shanghai’s Business Development Bank (BDB) for US$205 million in a cash deal.UCBH Holdings, which is the parent of United Commercial Bank, is the leading bank in the United States serving the Chinese community and American companies operating in China, with assets of US$10.35 billion.
BDB, which is in private hands and has a full banking license in mainland China, was formed in 1992 as China’s first wholly foreign-owned bank.
The Chinese bank has US$217.2 million of assets, US$188 million of loans and US$25.5 million of deposits, and has offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shantou as well as Shanghai.
UCBH chief executive Thomas Wu said the acquisition of BDB brought forward the bank’s China expansion plans by at least four years.