The rating on Bank of China (BOC) takes into consideration a degree of implicit Chinese government support and competitive advantages that the bank enjoys as the preeminent Chinese bank in the foreign exchange and international trade markets. These advantages are offset by the bank's weak financial profile. In particular, BOC's estimated high level of nonperforming loans (NPLs) and underprovisioning compromise the bank's financial profile. BOC's market size, a legacy of its state ownership and its previous role as a policy bank, underline the bank's importance to the government. BOC is the second-largest bank in China and is one of four wholly state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs), which dominate the domestic industry with a combined two-thirds market share. The government plans to
