Hong Kong virtual bank Livi names Michael Wang Lan as chief executive
- Livi, one of eight virtual banks approved by the HKMA, will enter into operation in the fourth quarter with HK$2.5 billion (US$318.54 million) in capital
Livi, the virtual bank backed by Bank of China (Hong Kong), has appointed Michael Wang Lan as chief executive, tapping the expertise of a financial manager who previously worked for Tencent-backed WeBank, the first online-only bank in China.
Livi is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of this year with HK$2.5 billion (US$318.54 million) in capital backing from its three investors.
Wang was general manager of the interbank and corporate department at WeBank from 2015 to 2017, where he was responsible for the bank’s payment channels, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporate platform online services.
BOCHK recruited Wang in February 2017 to head its e-finance department, a period when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority sought to promote lenders in the city to boost their digital banking capabilities.
Before joining WeBank, Wang worked for the Bank of China Shenzhen branch. He graduated from Zhongnan University of Economics with a bachelor’s degree in international finance in 1998 and obtained a master’s degree in the finance programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong-Tsinghua University.