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Luna Sun

A senior executive at one of China’s major policy banks has been placed under investigation, becoming the latest target in a sweeping official anti-corruption drive across the financial sector.
Xu Yiding, vice-president of the Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) and member of its Communist Party committee, is suspected of “serious violations of party discipline and the law”, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.
The two commissions operate as a single integrated body with dual mandates, combining internal party oversight with state supervision of public officials.
Xu was undergoing “disciplinary review and investigation”, they said in a statement released on Saturday.
Just two months into 2026, China’s top anti-corruption watchdog has announced investigations or disciplinary action against more than a dozen figures across the banking and financial regulatory system.
Xu, 56, is the latest executive to be caught in the net.
He has spent his entire career at the ADBC, which was established in the 1990s to support agriculture, rural areas and farmers. He joined the bank in April 1999 and rose through the ranks, holding senior positions across several provincial branches.
According to media reports, Xu was born into a farming family and grew up in poverty – an experience that later shaped his work in policy lending for poverty alleviation.
From farmers’ son to vice-president of a policy bank, Xu’s rise appeared to embody Beijing’s rural revitalisation push.
During his time at ADBC, he spearheaded a range of targeted financial products for impoverished regions and explored new models that coordinated government policy with market mechanisms and fiscal support, including the creation of pilot zones for policy-backed financial poverty relief.


In September 2017, Xu received the National Poverty Alleviation Innovation Award, becoming the only recipient from China’s financial sector that year.
He featured prominently in state media coverage at the time and was held up as a model figure for finance-driven poverty reduction.
In 2018, Xu was appointed vice-president of the bank’s poverty-alleviation finance division, while also serving as head of related business departments.
He was promoted to ADBC vice-president in November 2019, overseeing portfolios closely tied to poverty alleviation.
In the years since, Xu emerged as a key executor of the bank’s role in major national strategies, including rural revitalisation and food security.
As recently as January 13, Xu appeared at a signing ceremony for a comprehensive cooperation agreement between ADBC and the Agricultural Bank of China, a commercial lender, according to publicly available reports.
Authorities have stepped up scrutiny of senior executives in the financial system in recent years, citing risks linked to misuse of policy funds and weak internal controls.
The investigation into Xu follows a string of cases at the ADBC. Since December, at least three officials at the policy lender have been placed under investigation, underscoring a deepening anti-corruption drive within its ranks.
As China’s only agricultural policy bank, ADBC plays a critical role in advancing national priorities including food security, poverty alleviation and rural revitalisation.
However, its policy-driven mandate and close ties to government programmes also heighten risks of rent-seeking and complicate risk controls.


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Xu Yiding, awarded the the National Poverty Alleviation Innovation Award in 2017, is undergoing “disciplinary review and investigation”. Photo: Handout

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Economy

China Economy

The Agricultural Development Bank of China vice-president was once held up as a model figure for finance-driven poverty reduction


The Agricultural Development Bank of China vice-president was once held up as a model figure for finance-driven poverty reduction.


Farmers’ son banker Xu Yiding under investigation by China’s anti-corruption watchdog

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Agricultural Development Bank of China vice-president was once held up as a model figure for finance-driven poverty reduction

The Agricultural Development Bank of China vice-president was once held up as a model figure for finance-driven poverty reduction