Hackers hit Wall Street arm of Chinese banking giant ICBC

A U.S. subsidiary of China’s biggest bank was hacked this week, threatening a temporary logjam for some trades in the Treasury bond market.

ICBC Financial Services, a New York-based entity owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was the victim of a ransomware attack on Wednesday. The unit largely focuses on clearing, which means ensuring that transactions previously agreed by traders go through, and on lending and borrowing through repurchase agreements—a form of collateralized funding that forms a vital part of the financial system. 

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The company was forced to disconnect and isolate some of its I.T. systems after the attack. But it said it was able to clear all trades involving U.S. Treasurys that were executed on Wednesday, and repo financing that took place on Thursday.

The incident shines a spotlight on the financial connections between China and the U.S., which persist despite political tensions and economic rivalry between the two countries. Chinese institutions hold more than $800 billion of Treasury bonds, even after a yearslong reduction in their holdings, and the country’s biggest banks are active in the U.S. government-bond market.

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ICBC Financial Services forms part of the plumbing of the U.S. Treasury market as a member of the government-securities division of the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation. The FICC clears all trades in government bonds among members, which include household names such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, as well as smaller interdealer brokers.