Former Vice President of China Merchants Bank, Guan, who has been retired for several years, is currently under investigation.
On the evening of August 21, the Discipline Inspection Commission of China Merchants Group and the Discipline Inspection Commission of Qinghai Province stated that Ding Wei, former member of the Party Committee and Vice President of China Merchants Bank, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently under investigation.
China Merchants Bank is one of the most important financial institutions under China Merchants Group, with its asset size ranking first among 12 Chinese joint-stock banks. As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, the bank’s assets were 11.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.46% from the end of the previous year; loans and advances amounted to 6.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.72% from the previous year; the non-performing loan ratio was 0.92%, a decrease of 0.03 percentage points from the end of the previous year. Due to factors such as narrowing net interest margin and fee reductions, the bank’s operating income in the first quarter was 864.17 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.65% year-on-year; attributable net profit to shareholders was 380.77 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.96% year-on-year.
At the age of 67, Ding Wei previously worked at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC): from June 1986 to December 1996, Ding Wei served as the Director of the Academic Affairs Office, Deputy Director, Director, and Director of the Hangzhou Financial Management School at ICBC.
In December 1996, Ding Wei joined China Merchants Bank and held various positions including Director of the Hangzhou Branch Office and General Manager of the Business Department, Assistant to the President of the Hangzhou Branch, Vice President of the Hangzhou Branch, President of the Nanchang Branch, Human Resources Department General Manager of the Head Office, and Assistant to the President of the Head Office.
Starting from May 2008, Ding Wei served as the Vice President of China Merchants Bank.
On May 12, 2017, China Merchants Bank announced that a Board of Directors meeting was held, and the resolution on Ding Wei’s resignation as Vice President of China Merchants Bank was approved due to work-related reasons.
Following that, Ding Wei worked for several years at China Merchants Network Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and China Merchants Cloud Creation (Shenzhen) Information Technology Co., Ltd.; he also served as an independent director of Jining Bank, Shangzheng Fund Management Company, Fosun Ping An Life Insurance Company, and an external supervisor of Hengfeng Bank.
Recently, corruption cases within China Merchants Group have been frequent.
Shortly before Ding Wei’s investigation, on August 7, 2024, according to the Discipline Inspection Commission of China Merchants Group and the Discipline Inspection Commission of Guangdong Province, Chen Mingli, former Party Secretary and General Manager of China Merchants Ping An Asset Management Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen, was under investigation. At that time, Chen Mingli had resigned from the position of General Manager for over two years and he was the first case announced by the Discipline Inspection Commission of the China Merchants Group after the central inspection of the group at the end of 2023.