AgriculturalBankofChinaLimited(ABC,simplifiedChinese:中国农业银行股份有限公司）,alsoknownasAgBank,isoneofthe"BigFour"banksinthePeople'sRepublicofChina.Itwasfoundedin1951,andhasitsheadquartersinBeijing.IthasbranchesthroughoutmainlandChina,andalsoinHongKongandSingapore.

　　ABChas320millionretailcustomers,2.7millioncorporateclients,andnearly24,000branches.ItisChina'sthirdlargestlenderbyassets.ABCwentpublicinmid-2010,fetchingtheworld'sbiggesteverinitialpublicoffering(IPO).

　　History

　　AftertheestablishmentofthePeople'sRepublicofChinain1949,ABChasbeenformedandabolishedseveraltimes.In1951,twobanksoftheRepublicofChina,FarmersBankofChinaandCooperationBank,mergedtoformAgriculturalCooperationBank,whichABCregardsasitsancestor.However,thebankwasmergedintoPeople'sBankofChina,thecentralbankin1952.ThefirstbankbearingthenameAgriculturalBankofChinawasfoundedin1955,butitwasmergedintothecentralbankin1957.In1963theChinesegovernmentformedanotheragriculturalbank,anditwasalsomergedintothecentralbanktwoyearslater.Today'sAgriculturalBankofChinawasfoundedinFebruary1979.ItwasrestructuredtoformaholdingcompanycalledAgriculturalBankofChinaLimited.ItwaslistedontheShanghaiandHongKongstockexchangesinJuly2010.

　　InApril2007ABCwasthevictimofthelargestbankrobberyinChinesehistory.ThisoccurredwhentwovaultmanagersattheHandanbranchofthebankinHebeiprovinceembezzledalmost51millionyuan(US$7.5million).