Two of China’s largest state-owned banks, which are among the world’s largest financial institutions, have avoided billions of yuan in taxes and issued illegal loans, according to the country’s national auditor.
Bank of China, one of the country’s “big four lenders”, avoided paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax between April 2023 and August 2025, an annual report from the National Audit Office showed on Tuesday.
The bank, which controls trillions of dollars in assets, asked its employees to contribute between one and 100 yuan each to package 11 private equity funds as public funds, allowing them to qualify for tax exemptions, the auditor said.
The report also accused the Agricultural Bank of China, another “big four” institution, of illegally issuing 11 billion yuan in loans for farmland projects between December 2021 and August 2025.
Some of those funds were used to buy wealth management products and pay down debt, the report said.
AFP has contacted the banks for comment.
Bank of China said it “sincerely accepts the audit oversight” and promised to improve its compliance capabilities, in comments reported by local media.
China Everbright Group, another state-backed financial firm, was also criticized by the report for management failures.
By August 2025, the group lacked control over some of its subsidiaries, while some companies abused the Everbright brand, the report said.
Social media users expressed shock that one of the country’s largest state-run banks had defaulted on its debts.
“In whose pockets did the stolen tax go?” one user asked, while others demanded fines and recovery of funds.
“If one bank has avoided 2.4 billion, then what happens to the others?” wrote another.
