The Bank of China has fired or dismissed 75 bank officials for corrupt practices in a bid to clean up its operations ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing.

A Shanghai Bank of China branch. The Bank of China has fired or dismissed 75 bank officials for corrupt practices in a bid to clean up its operations ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing. [AFP]

Among those dismissed from the nation's second biggest commercial lender were 11 provincial-level branch managers or deputy managers, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

The report also said 41 branch managers at other levels had also been fired or resigned due to bank irregularities.

The action was taken after investigations last year uncovered 52 cases of corruption, the paper said, without giving details of the total amount of money involved or what criminal charges may be laid.

However the report said the investigations and action included some previously announced high profile cases of corruption.

One involved the former head and deputy head of a bank sub-branch in the northeast province of Heilongjiang who embezzled 914.6 million yuan (113 million dollars) worth of bank bills over the past three years.

The Bank of China has been embroiled in huge banking scandals in recent years, tarnishing its reputation as it has worked to list on overseas stock exchanges.

The Bank of China filed preliminary documents this year with the Hong Kong stock exchange for an initial public offering, with state press reports saying it could list as early as May.

Among those snared in the bank's history of corruption were the former head of its Hong Kong branch, Liu Jinbao, who was handed a suspended death sentence in August last year for embezzlement and bribery.

Zhao Ange, a former bank vice chairman, was jailed for life in July 2004 for accepting 5.79 million yuan in bribes and former president Wang Xuebing was sentenced to 12 years in December 2003 for taking 1.15 million yuan in bribes.

China's "big four" state-owned commercial banks punished 799 employees last year for irregularities, which cost the state up to 588.5 billion yuan, according to previous state press reports.