In 2023, at least 96 Chinese financial executive have fallen from grace, and 38 people have been investigated in the five major state-owned banks.
As the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to purge its financial system, state
media recently revealed that a number of bank executives have committed suicide
or died suddenly.
According
to the authorities of Yingshan County, Hubei Province, Wang Shengyong, the
president of the Yangtze River Village Bank in the county, died of carbon
monoxide poisoning on Dec. 5 at the age of 54 years old. It was reported that
Wang committed suicide after using his position to defraud depositors of 40
million yuan (about $5.6 million) under the guise of capital raising.
According
to official media reports, Du Haitao, deputy general manager of Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Credit Suisse Asset, died of a heart attack
while running on Dec. 13 at the age of 49. Born in 1974, Du was deputy general
manager of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., LTD. and chairman of ICBC
Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Co., LTD.
On Dec.
10, Gong Danzhi, the president of Huaxia Bank’s Tianjin branch, fell to his
death. The local police station confirmed the news.
Based on
business information, Gong Danzhi was appointed as the president of Huaxia
Bank’s Tianjin branch in November 2020. Previously, he was the vice president
of the bank’s Beijing branch and the president of its Beijing urban sub-centre
branch.
Founded
in October 1992 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in September 2003,
Huaxia Bank is China’s fifth nationally listed bank, with 44 first-tier
branches across the country and more than 40,000 employees. Shougang Group, a
large-scale state-owned enterprise, is Huaxia Bank’s first major shareholder,
with a shareholding of 21.68 percent.
In The
Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks 2019, Huaxia Bank was ranked 56th in terms of
Tier 1 capital and 67th in terms of asset size. In the Forbes Global 2000 List
(2019), Huaxia Bank was ranked 265th.
However,
in 2023, Huaxia Bank was in a series of accidents and fined tens of millions of
yuan.
On Dec.
20, the National Administration of Financial Regulation’s Taizhou Supervision
Branch issued a fine of 300,000 yuan (about $42,000) for Huaxia Bank’s Taizhou
branch.
On Sept.
26, Huaxia Bank’s Xiamen branch was fined 2.8 million yuan (about $391,700).
On Aug.
14, Huaxia Bank’s Nanchang branch was fined 1.985 million yuan (about
$277,700).
On July
3, a number of Huaxia Bank’s branches and sub-branches were subject to
regulatory penalties of 2 million yuan (about $279,800) for violations of laws
and regulations.
On June
30, Huaxia Bank was fined a total of 1.45 million yuan (about $202,900) in five
fines for a number of credit violations.
On June
2, Huaxia Bank’s Yingkou branch was fined 700,000 yuan (about $97,900).
On April
19, Huaxia Bank’s Shaoxing branch was fined 950,000 yuan (about $132,900).
Bank
Presidents Die Due to Pressure
In 2023,
at least 96 financial executives have fallen from grace, and 38 people have
been investigated in the five major state-owned banks.
“The
suicide of bank presidents show that the central [authority] doesn’t take
responsibility anymore. Whoever lends out the money is responsible,” Wang
Donglan (a pseudonym), former vice president of a bank in Shandong Province,
told The Epoch Times on Dec. 20.
“In the
past, enterprises were encouraged to operate in debt. Some enterprises did not
meet the conditions for loans, but through interpersonal connections, they got
the loans anyway.
“No one
asked about it for so many years. Now for the year-end check, someone must be
held accountable, can the bank presidents not be anxious? Which sum of money
was loaned out without the presidents’ sign? Choosing to commit suicide may be
able to save their families or assets.”
On May
4, the Bank of Beijing released an announcement that Lin Hua, an independent
director of the company, died at the age of 47 due to illness.
Mr. Lin,
born in 1975, had an impressive resume. As a chartered financial analyst and
financial risk manager, he did his MBA at the University of California, Irvine,
and his PhD in applied financial sciences from the University of Geneva. He
joined the Bank of Beijing’s board of directors in July 2022 and was an
independent director of the bank.
According
to public information, Lin was the chairman of Beijing Huacheng Functional
Technology Co., Ltd. He was also the editorial board member of the journal
Financial Accounting, the executive deputy director of the Asset Securitisation
Professional Committee of the Insurance Asset Management Association of China,
a member of the Enterprise Accounting Standards Advisory Committee of the
Ministry of Finance, an independent non-executive director of China Merchants
Land Asset Management, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Fifteenth
Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in
Dongcheng District, Beijing, among other titles.
As of
Dec. 7, CCP authorities reported that at least 96 cadres of the financial
system had been investigated. Among them, there were 8 cadres under central
administration, 71 cadres in central organs, state-owned enterprises, and
financial departments, as well as 17 cadres under provincial administration. In
2022, the number of people under investigation in the financial system was 77.
Since the CCP’s figures have long been questioned, the real number may be
higher.
“A lot
of middle and senior executives in many departments now died of sudden death or
heart disease.” Wang Donglan said. “There are all sorts of discussions online,
from death by disease to side effects of vaccines.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/multiple-financial-executives-commit-suicide-amid-chinas-financial-crisis-5552512?utm_source=uschinanoe&src_src=uschinanoe&utm_campaign=uschina-2023-12-26&src_cmp=uschina-2023-12-26&utm_medium=email&est=cNrS5ZIOuJNrDCkR0ajZAnw6N%2BOOPu3YQM0KsMMPFLa27GsBofr3Hq3JuGD8SEM%3D