1949年，中華民國政府在內戰中失利，自此之後，中國銀行分家，分別由中華人民共和國和中華民國所管轄。中華民國政府將中國銀行總管理處遷到臺灣後，奉令暫不對外營業，其業務以海外分行為主。中國銀行的海外分行是國共之間必爭的目標，海外分行的所在國家若與中共建交，將導致該分行的資產可能會被中共接收，為了使資產不被中共取得，得藉由清理和撤離的方式，將資產安置於安全地點。後來中國銀行與其他的國家行局一併於1960年代初期復業，象徵著國家經濟的轉型，也意味著在未來反攻大陸的計畫裡，國家行局是計畫中不可或缺的一塊。
1971年，中華民國退出聯合國，為避免日益險峻的國際關係影響中國銀行的海外分行，遂使其改名為中國國際商業銀行，並改制為民營，以迴避可能到來的危機，保住對外貿易和聚集僑資的重要窗口。本文透過探討中國銀行轉變為中國國際商銀的過程，回顧臺灣的經濟發展，藉此窺探政府在國際上與中共的競爭情形。
By the end of the civil war in 1949, the Bank of China (BOC) was split into two parts, one of which was under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (ROC) and the other under People Republic of China (PRC). Following ROC’s government moving to Taiwan, BOC’s headquarter in Taiwan was temporarily closed for business due to the government’s policy and only maintained its service abroad. However, its overseas branches became the targets of the competition between ROC and PRC. Once the country, which BOC’s oversea branch belonged to, tended to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC, the branch would face a risk that its lost its properties to PRC. I order to reduce such risk the BOC had to clean up or withdraw and then relocated its properties to another safer branch. In the early 1960s along with other state-run banks BOC assumed business. Not only does such process symbolize that Taiwan involved in the economic transformation, but also means that those state-run banks were very important parts in government’s plan to recover the mainland.
In 1971, to avoid the diplomatic frustrations dragged down the BOC’s overseas branches, the government order it to be renamed as International Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and transferred it into a private bank. Thought this way, the government leaders believed that they could keep an important window for foreign exchange and overseas Chinese investments. This study discusses the process that the BOC became ICBC. According to this case study, some aspects about Taiwan’s earlier economic development as well as the competition between the ROC and the PRC should be further explored.
