OREANDA-NEWS. December 22, 2011. The Banker (UK) named ICBC the "Best Bank in China" at the Bank of Year Awards 2011 held earlier, in recognition of ICBC's outstanding performance and substantial continuous growth. This is the eighth year for ICBC to win the award.

Accounting for the first factor for ICBC to win the award is the outstanding performance of the bank in bolstering structure adjustment and service innovation, said industry insiders. Commenting on the award to ICBC, The Banker said: "ICBC has carried out a remarkable makeover in income portfolio following a fast growth in intermediary business. In a sign that the nature of the bank's income is changing, from the decline of what has conventionally been based on interest rate spreads, ICBC's net fee and commissions in 2010 accounted for 19.13% of its total operating income. In addition, investment and trading contributed to more than 20% of the bank's total operating income. Another change at the bank, which also reflects the diversified service channels as well as the increased service capability, is that the ratio of online business to total banking business rose to 59.1%.

The judging panel was also impressed by ICBC's outstanding achievements in globalization and integrated operation. In the comment to ICBC, The Banker emphasized: "Reform has been a focus for ICBC as it pursues its ambition of taking center stage in the international financial community and becoming one of the world's leading banks. While banks in many markets around the world have cited the financial crisis as a cause for concern, ICBC sees it as an opportunity, and in the post-financial crisis era it has been actively internationalising and diversifying its operations. The bank has increased its geographical spread and has also been accelerating its innovation in products, technology and sales channels in its bid to become a recognized comprehensive financial services provider. This has been done through mergers and acquisitions of overseas institutions in both emerging and developed markets, which has laid the foundation for future expansion."