China’s financial overhaul continues with banking veteran Li Yunze named party chief of new regulatory body
- Li Yunze, 52, has been appointed as the party chief of the new National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR)
- Beijing set up the new body as part of a sweeping reform plan unveiled at the annual ‘two sessions’ in March amid its shift to prioritise financial stability
China has appointed a banking veteran as the party chief of its new financial regulator, which will oversee 400 trillion yuan (US$58 trillion) of banking and insurance assets amid Beijing’s shift to prioritise financial stability.
Former Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) vice-president Li Yunze, 52, will head the new National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission confirmed on Wednesday.
The yet to be launched NAFR will incorporate the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and absorb the central bank’s supervisory body for financial holding companies and the securities regulator’s investor protection function, according to a draft plan submitted to the National People’s Congress – China’s top legislature – earlier this year.
Li spent more than two decades within China’s state banking system, having started his career at China Construction Bank – one of China’s big four state-owned banks – in 1993.
He was then promoted to vice-president of the ICBC, China’s largest in terms of assets, in 2016.