ICBC denies discrimination in US

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market value, denied Monday having discriminatory practices in the US, saying that accusations by two US groups were "politically motivated."

The US Pinoys for Good Governance (US4PGG) and the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) planned to hold demonstrations in front of a branch of the Bank of East Asia, which was taken over by ICBC in July, in San Francisco on Tuesday, reported Asian Journal, a Filipino-American community paper.

They accused ICBC of "not hiring, making loans or investing with Asian Americans, Latinos or Blacks," as well as the bank's "direct and indirect financing of China's military actions in the South China Sea."

The organizations said ICBC's practice violates the Federal Reserve's Community Reinvestment Act requirements and the anti-discrimination requirements in the Dodd-Frank Reform Bill.

According to the paper, they will be meeting with the Federal Reserve in September to request an immediate investigation and to bar, for five years, ICBC from acquiring any additional banks in the US.

Wang Zhenning, a deputy director at the media office of ICBC, told the Global Times that such claims were totally wrong and the bank would not bother to pay attention to allegations that have been completely fabricated.

"We only have to look at one thing: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)in the US rated us as 'outstanding.' That rating is enough to scotch all the rumors," he said.

Ernest Patrikis, a lawyer representing ICBC, told the 21st Century Business Herald that "outstanding" means the bank has no discriminatory practice and has good loan records.

Wang also denied financing China's military actions in the South China Sea. "These organizations are using ICBC to achieve their political purposes."

Loida Nicolas-Lewis, a Filipino-American businesswoman and chair of the US4PGG, called on Filipinos around the world to mount demonstrations in front of Chinese embassies and consulates, as tensions raged between Beijing and Manila over a standoff in waters near Huangyan Island in May.

Yu Wanli, a professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times that the Filipino interest groups in the US are trying to stake their claims in the South China Sea through protesting against large Chinese enterprises like ICBC.