China Bank Chiefs’ Shakeup Gathers Pace

The reshuffle of senior executives at China’s state-owned banks is accelerating, with two more of the nation's “Big Six” banks announcing new deputy heads of their Communist Party committees—an essential move preceding their promotions to the position of president [para. 1]. The Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (ABC) and the Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. (BOCOM) reported the appointments of Wang Zhiheng and Zhang Baojiang, respectively, as their new deputy secretaries [para. 2]. Both are anticipated to ascend to the role of president once the necessary formalities are completed [para. 2].

Wang Zhiheng, aged 50, currently serves as the president and party committee chief of China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd., another state-owned financial institution [para. 3]. Upon earning a master’s degree in finance from Nankai University in 1999, Wang built his career at Bank of China Ltd., holding various significant positions such as vice president at the Guangdong provincial branch and president of the Qinghai and Beijing branches [para. 4]. In 2021, he became an executive vice president of the bank [para. 4]. Wang was appointed deputy chief of Everbright Bank’s party committee in December 2022 and took over as president the following March, filling a vacancy left by Fu Wanjun [para. 5]. His expected appointment as ABC president will fill the role vacated by Fu, who was recently appointed as a vice minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration [para. 6].

Regarding Zhang Baojiang, the expected new president of BOCOM, he is currently approximately 54 years old and works at the Agricultural Development Bank of China, one of China's three policy banks [para. 7]. His roles included director of the general office and president of the Anhui branch before his promotion to vice president in 2022 [para. 7]. Liu Jun, BOCOM’s former president, resigned last week and is expected to take over as president of the largest “Big Six” lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) [para. 8].

As of the end of March, ABC reported total assets of 42.2 trillion yuan ($5.9 trillion), making it the second largest among the “Big Six,” closely trailing ICBC [para. 9]. In contrast, BOCOM ranked sixth with assets amounting to 14.2 trillion yuan, as per its quarterly report [para. 9].

The story had contributions from Zhang Yuzhe and can be further inquired about through Zhang Yukun or editor Nerys Avery [para. 10][para. 11].