On September 22, 2025, the Tianjin branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) successfully launched its FT account system, raising the number of FT pilot banks in Tianjin to seven. Since the start of 2025, the People’s Bank of China Tianjin Branch has facilitated the FT account rollout at five banks in the city.
The other four banks that went live in 2025 are:
China CITIC Bank Tianjin Branch – August 11
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Tianjin Branch – July 31
Bank of Communications Tianjin Branch – July 31
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) Tianjin Branch – June 16 (the first bank in Tianjin to expand FT account coverage in 2025)
Prior to the 2025 expansion, the first two FT account adopters in Tianjin were: China Merchants Bank Tianjin Branch (November 26, 2019) and Bank of China Tianjin Branch (December 31, 2019).
Currently, FT accounts are piloted only in five major free trade zones (FTZs): Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shenzhen, and Hainan. ICBC is the first bank nationwide to implement full FT account coverage across all five FTZs.
The seven FT account banks each bring unique strengths to cross-border financial services:
Agricultural Bank of China
As a large state-owned bank, it boasts an extensive network of branches and cross-border services. In its FT account services, the Bank leverages its nationwide and even global network advantages to provide customers with more convenient cross-border fund transfers, settlements, and other services. This is particularly true in key regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, enabling better integration of domestic and international markets and serving the real economy. In Guangdong and other regions, the Agricultural Bank of China's FT account offers specialized services for sci-tech enterprises. For example, it supports sci-tech enterprises registered in the Guangzhou Development Zone in opening FT accounts, providing domestic and international financing, fund pooling, and other services, helping sci-tech enterprises "go global" and manage cross-border funds, demonstrating its precision services for specific industries.
Over the past two decades since its establishment, the bank's international business has continuously improved in terms of scale, product variety, transaction systems, and comprehensive services, consistently ranking first among small and medium-sized commercial banks in annual international settlement volume. China CITIC Bank Tianjin Branch will use FT account services as a new starting point to deepen its presence in cross-border finance, strengthen collaboration with and provide services to sister branches, and inject CITIC's strength into Tianjin's high-quality development.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
We will leverage our global layout advantages to expand diversified scenarios, rely on the internationalization and integration advantages of ICBC Group, connect domestic and foreign markets, serve diversified scenarios of "onshore, offshore, and cross-border", build a northern FT financial center, and implement the development strategy of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with high standards, high requirements, and high efficiency.
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Tianjin Branch
Dedicated to reform and innovation in the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, the company has been selected 11 times as a case study in the region's financial innovation, demonstrating its practical experience and innovative capabilities. With the launch of its FT account, the company will leverage its integrated and consolidated service system to provide businesses with more convenient and diverse cross-border financial products and services. By building a financial services network "based in Tianjin, connecting the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and serving northern China," the company will achieve a deep integration of proven experience and local needs, promote cross-regional economic cooperation, and optimize the allocation of financial resources. This will provide solid financial support for attracting high-quality enterprises to Tianjin and fostering distinctive industrial clusters, ultimately helping Tianjin become a new hub for financial innovation and practice.
China Bank of Communications
It takes the lead in focusing on leasing and cross-border e-commerce special scenarios, explores offshore and onshore loan + trade financing product combinations through FT accounts, and provides precise services to financial leasing companies; in the field of cross-border e-commerce, it focuses on the business needs of payment institutions, and through the linkage of traditional accounts + FT accounts, it smoothes the new foreign trade business links.
Effectively utilize the "two markets, two prices" financial service structure under the FT, giving customers the right to freely choose onshore and offshore foreign exchange settlement and sales prices, further reducing corporate financial costs. At the same time, leveraging the advantages of the FT separate accounting system with funds coming from both within the region and abroad, further provide FT customers with lower-interest financing support, strengthen financial support for the real economy in terms of stabilizing foreign investment and foreign trade, and effectively improve the quality and efficiency of bank-enterprise services.
As one of the first financial institutions nationwide to participate in the FT account initiative, the Tianjin branch is the first bank in Tianjin to launch the service. Customers can open unified local and foreign currency accounts within separate accounting units based on their needs. The unique convenience in foreign exchange and financing will support businesses in competing on a higher level and enhance the local business environment.
Going forward, as the FT account pilot program continues to deepen and policy dividends continue to be released, the seven participating banks in Tianjin will leverage their respective strengths to continuously innovate in cross-border investment and financing, fund pool management, exchange rate hedging, and industrial finance. This will further strengthen the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone's role as a financial gateway for opening up. This will inject continuous financial momentum into the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of a core international shipping zone in northern China, and high-quality "going global" and "bringing in" strategies. This will help Tianjin establish itself as a new hub for cross-border finance in northern China and foster a Tianjin-style national FT account system.
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