Yeap, absolutely and completely useless, that is most banks in China. The BOC has long had a reputation for being tied to the party line and unhelpful, especially where foreigners are concerned. An aussie guy I knew in the rag trade many moons back was always whinging about them, and how hard they made things. Look at the amount of paperwork/red stamping needed just to close a bank account. Opening one is the easy part, it's normally done instantly, problems can arise later.