New | PBOC's Hu appointed to head Exim Bank

People's Bank of China deputy governor Hu Xiaolian has been appointed the chairwoman of Export-Import Bank of China and its Communist Party chief, in the latest reshuffle in the top echelons of the country's central bank.

Earlier, former Bank of Shanghai chairman Fan Yifei was appointed a member of the central bank's Communist Party committee before the Lunar New Year, according to a central bank statement published on February 15.

Mainland media Caixin also reported this month that Li Dongrong, another deputy governor of the PBOC, would retire this year. With Li, two out of four deputy governors would have vacated their posts.

There has been no mention so far of a possible replacement of central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, who has held the post for over a decade. Last year, mainland media reported rumours that the leadership was considering replacing Zhou.

Hu's biography as a deputy governor remained on the PBOC's website as of yesterday but her name was not mentioned in the statement about a PBOC party committee meeting on February 15. The meeting was chaired by Zhou to discuss Premier Li Keqiang's speech in an earlier State Council meeting on the anti-corruption drive. An Export-Import Bank statement said Hu chaired a meeting of the Communist Party committee of the bank last Tuesday as the party committee chief and chairwoman of the bank, confirming her appointment as head of the policy bank.

Hu is replacing Li Ruogu, who became the chairman and president of Export-Import Bank in June 2005. Li was also a deputy governor and a member of the monetary policy committee at the PBOC before he was appointed head of Export-Import Bank.