Bank of China (BOC) is to take great efforts this year in the improvement of its internal management system, so to make itself still more competitive as banking markets open wider to foreign firms.

Wang Xuebing, BOC president, said that a sounder internal control system will be in place within two years, which will be characterized by clear definitions of responsibility and a balanced interaction between all bank departments, according to China Daily Business Weekly on January 30.

"All operations and departments should strictly adhere to the system," Wang said at a national conference held last week in Beijing, which was attended by all the heads of its branches.

He also said that any irregularities will be dealt with severely and all department heads have a clear responsibility to provide adequate supervision.

To develop a sound management system has been one of BOC's top tasks for years. And the improvements helped the bank earn 11.48 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion US dollars) in profits last year.

Most of the bank's loans were given to transportation, telecommunications and hi-tech firms. Wang said BOC last year helped the country's State-owned enterprises by setting up the China Orient Assets Management Company.

The company has so far arranged 19.04-billion-yuuan )2.2 billion US dollars) in debt to equity swap deals.

The bank will strive to improve its financial services this year and to expand its market shares in large and medium-sized cities, said Wang.