BANK OF AMERICA TO INVEST US$3 BILLION IN
AND FORM STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK

Beijing, China - China Construction Bank ("CCB") and Bank of America today announced the
signing of a definitive agreement for Bank of America to invest an initial US$3 billion in CCB
through a US$2.5 billion pre-IPO purchase of existing shares from the largest shareholder China SAFE Investments Ltd. ("Huijin") and a further US$500 million investment at CCB's planned international IPO. Bank of America will also have an option to purchase additional shares in the future to increase its ownership in CCB up to 19.9%. This transaction represents the largest single foreign investment in a Chinese company to date.

As part of the transaction, CCB and Bank of America have entered into separate agreements for
Bank of America to provide strategic assistance to CCB in the areas of corporate governance,
risk management, IT, financial management, human resource management, retail banking
(including credit card), and global treasury services. As part of this strategic assistance program, Bank of America will provide approximately 50 personnel to advise CCB in these key areas. Bank of America will also have a seat on CCB's board of directors.

China Construction Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in China with total assets of
approximately RMB 3,910 billion at the end of 2004. CCB achieved strong profitability and
asset quality measures in 2004. With the Bank of America partnership, CCB becomes the first of
China's "Big Four" banks to reach an agreement with a foreign strategic investor, achieving a significant milestone in its transformation.

Guo Shuqing, Chairman of China Construction Bank, said, "We are very pleased to have Bank
of America, one of the world's largest, most successful and respected financial institutions, as our strategic partner. I firmly believe this is a win-win partnership. The most fundamental and challenging task in transforming CCB is to establish a culture that is customer centric and market driven. Our goal is to provide the best service to our customers. We have much to learn from our partner in serving customers and creating shareholder value. This is the core of our comprehensive cooperation."

Chang Zhenming, President of China Construction Bank, added, "Bank of America is the ideal
strategic partner for us. We have built a leading corporate banking business and a large retail banking branch network in China. Bank of America has demonstrated its expertise in managing the largest retail branch network in the United States and in maximizing product sales while maintaining a strong asset quality. Their experience and skills will be very valuable to us in our building an internationally competitive modern commercial bank."

 

"This investment is aimed at creating a long-term benefit by partnering with the best positioned bank in China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world with 1.3 billion consumers," said Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America chairman and chief executive officer. "China Construction Bank has undergone an impressive transformation in the last several years. They have built a leading franchise in China, and we see value in combining their local knowledge and distribution with our product expertise, technology and experience with size and scale. Under our agreement, we will offer CCB the benefit of our experience in such areas as governance, risk management, credit cards, consumer banking and treasury services."

China Construction Bank and Huijin were advised in this transaction by Morgan Stanley and
China International Capital Corporation.

China Construction Bank

China Construction Bank is the second largest commercial bank in China (source: The Almanac
of China's Finance and Banking 2004 Edition) providing a comprehensive range of commercial
banking products and services primarily to domestic corporate and retail customers in China.
CCB has 136 million active retail deposit accounts and serves 92 of the top 100 enterprises in
China. CCB operates an extensive national network of approximately 14,500 branches and
approximately 12,500 ATMs and is one of the largest providers of residential mortgages in
China. CCB had approximately 12% share of total loans and approximately 13% share of total
deposits in China at the end of 2004. As of December 31, 2004, CCB had approximately RMB
3,910 billion in assets.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million
consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and
award-winning online banking with more than 13 million active users. Bank of America is the
No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1
SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries
and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the
Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements involve
certain risks and uncertainties.

This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that will contain detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.

Media contact:
Xiang Chai
+86-10-6759 7517
China Construction Bank