Overseas business clearing banks refer to institutions authorized by the People’s Bank of China to provide clearing and settlement services for banks involved in Renminbi business in countries or overseas regions that have established overseas Renminbi clearing arrangements.
Countries or regions that have established overseas RMB clearing arrangements refer to those countries or regions whose central banks or regulatory bodies have signed a memorandum of cooperation on RMB clearing arrangements with the People’s Bank of China.
Hong Kong and Macau were the first to offer renminbi clearing services in December 2003 and September 2004.
Since 2013, the development has moved into a fast lane, culminating in 2015 with the addition of nine companies.
In September 2016, Bank of China’s New York branch became a clearing bank for renminbi business in the United States, a major milestone.
As of June 16, 2020, 26 RMB clearing banks had been set up in 24 overseas countries and regions, covering the Americas, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Africa, facilitating the holding and use of RMB by overseas entities.
Of these, New York and Tokyo were liquidated twice each.
They are all owned by big Chinese banks, with the exception of J.P. Morgan of the U.S. and Mitsubishi UFJ of Japan.
