China's top auditor says major state banks have committed tax evasion or lending violations

East Asia

Bank of China evaded paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax while Agricultural Bank of China illegally issued 11 billion yuan in loans to farmland projects, says China's top audit body.

Bank of China evaded paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax between April 2023 and August 2025, said China's national auditor. (File photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

26 Jun 2026 11:48AM

BEIJING: Two of China's top state-owned banks, which are among the world's largest financial institutions, have evaded billions of yuan in tax and issued illegal loans, according to the country's top audit body, underscoring Beijing's ‌intensified scrutiny amid fiscal pressures.The Bank of China, one of the nation's "big four" lenders, evaded paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax between April 2023 and August 2025, an annual report by the National Audit Office on Tuesday (Jun 23) showed.The bank, which controls trillions of dollars in assets, enlisted 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.While China's audit office reports tax-related irregularities annually, it is rare for it to publicly single out a major state-owned lender for tax evasion.