The Guangdong Development Bank (GDB) has announced the completion of its share transfer to new shareholders including the Citigroup.

So far, all the fund for nearly 85.6 percent of GDB's shares has been transacted into the GDB's account, a company source confirmed Tuesday.

In a addition to Citigroup, other shareholders are China Life Insurance Group and China Guodian Corp, respectively the nation's largest insurer and major electricity distributor.

Each of the three companies hold 20 percent of the GDB's shares respectively. The other three institutes hold about the remaining 25 percent.

The Citigroup-led consortium of new shareholders signed a purchase agreement of 24.27 billion yuan (3.03 billion U.S. dollars) with the GDB last month to acquire nearly 85.6 percent of the bank, ending a lengthy battle with French bank Societe Generale and China's second largest insurer Ping An Group.

The GDB opened a provisional shareholder meeting on Monday afternoon. More than 200 representatives attended the meeting and elected the 16-member directorate of the bank.

Also on Monday, the China Banking Regulatory Commission approved the GDB's application for foreign shareholders, said a statement on the commission's website.

"After receiving applications from the GDB, we have conducted a strict qualification examination based on relevant laws and regulations. Then we decided to approve the new shareholders," said the statement.

The GDB was established in 1988 and developed into a national bank with assets worth 370 billion yuan (46.25 billion dollars) and more than 12,000 employees.

"We have made progress in the GDB reform and restructuring, but much work is yet to be done before developing it into a modern commercial bank with international competitiveness," said the statement.