Bank of China vice-president resigns after allegations of affairs

A vice-president of China's fourth-largest bank has resigned after he was investigated and subsequently cleared of suspicion of corruption by the Communist Party's top disciplinary body, mainland media reported.

Wang Yongli, 50, a vice-president and executive director of Hong Kong-listed Bank of China, had resigned from the bank, effective from Wednesday, the bank said in a statement on Friday night.

Wang, who holds a doctoral degree in economics from China's Xiamen University, had worked at the bank for 25 years and been a vice-president for more than seven. He had been in charge of various departments within the bank, including finance and information technology, before being promoted to vice-president in 2006.

Wang was a contender for the bank's top job when its previous president, Li Lihui , retired at the end of last year, Beijing-based Caixin magazine said.

Wang lost out on the job to a fellow vice-president, Chen Siqing, who was named president in January.

Caixin cited multiple sources as saying a "lover" of the married Wang had alerted the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to the fact that Wang, a party member, had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs in violation of party discipline.