China CITIC Bank controversies

Former president Sun Deshun sentenced to death with reprieve and life imprisonment in first-instance bribery case

On November 10, 2023, the Jinan Intermediate People's Court found in the first instance that Sun Deshun, former president of China CITIC Bank, had accepted bribes of more than 979.5 million yuan, and sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve; after commutation to life imprisonment, he is to be imprisoned for life without commutation or parole. The acts found by the court spanned his tenures at ICBC, Bank of Communications, and China CITIC Bank.

China fines Citic Bank and a Baidu unit over joint-venture reporting

Fine or penalty

China's antitrust regulator fined China Citic Bank and Fujian Baidu Bo Rui Netcom 500,000 yuan each for failing to report their digital-bank joint venture before its formation in 2015. The penalty concerns the failure to file the required pre-formation notification for the joint venture, not the venture's subsequent operations. The event was reported on November 23, 2021.

China’s antitrust regulator fined China Citic Bank and Fujian Baidu Bo Rui Netcom 500,000 yuan each for failing to report their digital-bank joint venture before its formation in 2015.

Hongkou Sub-branch provided Chi Zi's account information to a third party without strict authorization

In May 2020, actor Wang Yuechi complained that the Shanghai Hongkou Sub-branch of China CITIC Bank provided his personal account information to Xiaoguo Culture, with which he had a dispute. The bank verified that an employee had not handled the matter in accordance with regulations and had provided payment records, apologized to the person concerned, and removed the sub-branch president from office; regulators intervened to investigate. This entry is limited to the information handling of the specific sub-branch.

CITIC Bank fined for regulatory violations

Fine or penalty

In a regulatory action reported in February 2020, the Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau fined China CITIC Bank 20.2 million yuan. The penalty concerned 19 alleged regulatory violations, which according to the summary included improper real-estate lending and misuse of loan funds. The event was reported by the source on February 24, 2020, with the event date given as February 21, 2020. The available information identifies the regulator, the bank, the fine amount, and the general nature of the alleged violations; no further details on the individual violations or subsequent outcomes are provided.

CITIC Bank acknowledges customer transaction records were provided without proper procedure

Issue disclosure

CITIC Bank stated that its employees did not follow required procedures when providing Wang Yuechi's account transaction records to Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. The report describes the records as personal financial information and says the bank acknowledged the procedural failure.

CITIC Bank said its employees did not follow required procedures when providing Wang Yuechi's account transaction records to Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. The report describes the records as personal financial information and says the bank acknowledged the procedural failure.

CITIC Bank apologizes over employee disclosure of customer payment records

Company response

CITIC Bank stated that an employee provided Wang Yuechi's payment records after Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media contacted the account-opening branch to request records of labor payments to an employee. The bank apologized for the incident, said it had disciplined the relevant employees, and removed the branch manager from their post.

CITIC Bank said an employee provided Wang Yuechi's payment records after Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media contacted the account-opening branch to request records of labor payments to an employee. The bank apologized, said it had disciplined relevant employees, and removed the branch manager from their post.

Pond Culture accused of obtaining a performer's bank account records

Issue disclosure

In a contract dispute, comedian Chi Zi alleged that materials sent to him by Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. included his personal bank account transaction records, which he said violated personal-information protections. He stated that he had reported the matter to the authorities. The supplied report contains no response from the company and no finding by any authority.

Comedian Chi Zi alleged that materials sent by Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. in a contract dispute included his personal bank account transaction records, which he said violated personal-information protections. He said he had reported the matter to authorities; the supplied report contains no company response or finding by an authority.

Li Auto responds to CITIC Bank loan disruption

Company response

After CITIC Bank stopped disbursing loans for Li Auto ONE buyers and some customers encountered difficulty completing purchases, Li Auto apologized and announced an emergency solution for affected customers, including alternative financing channels and compensation for eligible applicants.