CBA closes stake sale in Bank of Hangzhou to NCI

GlobalData

Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 4:02 AM 1 min read

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has concluded the sale of its remaining shareholding in Bank of Hangzhou (HZB) to New China Life Insurance (NCI), a Beijing-based life insurer.

The transaction marks the completion of CBA’s divestment from the Chinese bank.

In January this year, CBA signed an agreement to sell its remaining 5.45% stake in HZB to NCI, which is said to yield approximately A$940m (then $593m) in gross proceeds for CBA.

Established in September 1996, HZB is located in Zhejiang province, China. It is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

NCI is listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

CBA expects the transaction to boost its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio by around 17 basis points.

Meanwhile, recently, CBA was in the news for migrating its data platform to Amazon Web Services (AWS) to improve integration with other banking channels.

This transition aims to deliver personalised experiences for customers and employees using data, AI, and analytics technologies.

The bank has been making several moves in recent times to support its AI push.

In March, CBA launched the Seattle Tech Hub in the US to improve its AI capabilities and customer service.

The Hub is said to serve as a “strategic gateway” for CommBank's technology teams.

The same month, the bank announced an expanded partnership and investment in AI research company Anthropic, aiming to improve its in-house technology capabilities and support focus on key AI use cases.

"CBA closes stake sale in Bank of Hangzhou to NCI" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.

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