In recent days, the news of the downfall of former vice president of the “Financial Tiger” China Agricultural Bank, Lou Wenlong, has shocked the financial sector. It is noted that he and former chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Yi Huiman, who has been dismissed, are both alumni of Zhejiang Bank School, known as the “Jinrong Huangpu” (Finance Whampoa) of China. Previously, the school has seen many alumni who were high-ranking officials and financial officials in Zhejiang fall from grace. Zhejiang is the birthplace of the “Zhijiang Xingjun” of the Xi faction in the Chinese Communist Party, and analysts believe that the infighting within the Xi faction may have sparked a financial cleansing storm that could have reached the headquarters of the “Zhijiang Xingjun”.
The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission announced on May 16 that Lou Wenlong, former member of the Party Committee and vice president of China Agricultural Bank, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. At the same time, the central inspection team has just been in the China Agricultural Bank Co., Ltd. for one month.
Lou Wenlong has been under investigation since his departure in 2017, and authorities have not provided further details on his alleged violations.
Reports indicate that while Lou Wenlong is under investigation, his son, Lou Jie, the secretary of the board of directors of Zhejiang Yin Financial Leasing Company, was taken away for investigation by relevant authorities on May 15.
The reasons for Lou Jie’s investigation are currently unknown, but sources suggest that he often acted in the name of Lou Wenlong in his business dealings.
Lou Jie joined Zhejiang Bank, restructured from Zhejiang Commercial Bank, in 2015, and in 2021, he joined Zhejiang Yin Financial Leasing Company, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Bank, and served as the executive secretary of the company.
Lou Wenlong’s career has always been in the financial sector, and he has had professional interactions with Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Public records indicate that after graduating from Zhejiang Bank School (now Zhejiang Vocational College of Finance), Lou Wenlong remained at the school to teach before working at the People’s Bank of China in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai Branch.
In 1998, the People’s Bank of China implemented a reform of its management system, abolishing provincial branches and setting up nine regional branches across provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. The same year, Lou Wenlong was transferred to the Banking Inspection Department of the Hangzhou Financial Regulatory Office as the Director of the Bank Inspection Division and assistant commissioner.
In 2002, Lou Wenlong moved to Beijing to serve as the deputy director of the Construction Bank Regulatory Group of China Bank Branch 1. At that time, the director of the Regulatory Group 1 was Tang Shuangning, who was removed from office in 2023.
In April 2003, the China Banking Regulatory Commission was established, and Lou Wenlong was transferred to the deputy director of Division 2 of the Bank Regulatory Department. This department was mainly responsible for the supervision of small and medium-sized financial institutions such as joint-stock banks, city commercial banks, and urban credit cooperatives. At that time, Lai Xiaomin served as the deputy division-level cadre of Division 2 and was Lou Wenlong’s supervisor.
In February 2009, Lou Wenlong was appointed as the Director of the Beijing Banking Regulatory Bureau, the most important dispatched institution of the banking regulatory system, with Lai Xiaomin as the first director.
During his tenure as head of China Huarong, Lai Xiaomin was exposed to have funneled significant profits to key figures in the Jiang faction, including Jiang Zemin, former leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He was seen as a prominent figure representing the influence of the Jiang faction in the mainland China and Hong Kong business circles. Lai Xiaomin became the first person in the financial sector to be sentenced to death for embezzlement in recent years.
In December 2012, Lou Wenlong became the executive director and vice president of China Agricultural Bank Co., Ltd.
In April 2017, the unexpected resignation of 59-year-old Lou Wenlong surprised the industry. There were rumors at the time that he would join Ant Group, but Ant Group denied any such arrangement.
Before his downfall, Lou Wenlong served as the director of the En Tan Industry and Finance Research Institute in Zhejiang.
Lou Wenlong graduated from Zhejiang Bank School in his early years. In China’s financial sector, there are several bank schools known as the “Huangpu of Bank Presidents,” and Zhejiang Bank School is one of them. The school used to be directly affiliated with the People’s Bank of China.
During Xi Jinping’s tenure as the Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee from 2002 to 2007, he sent congratulatory letters to the school on the occasion of the opening of the new campus of Zhejiang Vocational College of Finance in 2003 and the 30th anniversary of its founding in 2005.
According to information released by the school, over 5,000 alumni have become deputy bank presidents and higher-ranking officials, with some reaching ministerial level.
Yi Huiman was the highest-ranking official among the alumni, holding a ministerial-level position. Zhejiang Vocational College of Finance rose to national fame overnight after Yi Huiman took over as the President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 2013.
Yi Huiman was removed from office on February 7, 2024, without an official explanation. During the continuous downturn of the Chinese stock market, Yi Huiman was seen as a scapegoat for the slump.
As of now, besides Lou Wenlong and Yi Huiman, other known fallen alumni include He Xingxiang, deputy president of the China Development Bank; Li Jun, former president of Chengdu Agricultural Commercial Bank; Ni Xianmeng, deputy president of the Zhejiang Branch of China Development Bank; and Wang Yaoting, former deputy president of Huaxia Bank.
Alumni of Zhejiang Vocational College of Finance are widely present in the financial banking system and have close ties with the political circles of Zhejiang Province and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai political and business circles. Apart from alumni officials, the financial sector in Zhejiang has been tumultuous in the past year, with many officials falling from grace.
On April 26, 2024, Guo Xingang, former secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Zhejiang Branch of the Bank of China, underwent inspection and investigation.
On December 7, 2023, Li Xiaohong, former senior deputy manager of the Zhejiang Branch of the Construction Bank, voluntarily came under investigation.
On December 5, 2023, Lao Xinjiang, former vice president of the Zhejiang Branch of the Construction Bank, was investigated (with several others from the branch who had fallen earlier in the year).
On November 5, 2023, Lü Xiaodong, former vice president of the Zhejiang Branch of the China Agricultural Bank, was expelled from the party.
On the afternoon of May 4, 2023, Zhu Congjiu, the “Vice Provincial Governor of Finance” who supervised finance in Zhejiang Province for a decade, was investigated.
In February 2023, Shen Renkang, former secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of Zhejiang Commercial Bank, fell from grace.
Before Shen Renkang, several high-ranking executives of Zhejiang Commercial Bank and Zhejiang Commercial Finance were investigated, including Zhang Changgong, former vice president of Zhejiang Commercial Bank, and Xu Bing, former deputy general manager of Zhejiang Commercial Finance.
Political commentator Li Yanming told Dajiyuan that the intense internal power struggles within the Xi faction have led to the downfall of high-ranking officials like Lou Wenlong and Yi Huiman. The financial cleansing storm may have already involved the “Zhijiang Xingjun” of the Xi faction in Zhejiang province.
The “Zhijiang Xingjun” is a faction formed during Xi Jinping’s leadership in Zhejiang, also known as the Zhejiang faction. Within the Xi faction, there are also divisions such as the Fujian faction (Minjiang Xingjun), Guangdong faction (New Shaanxi Gang), and the New Shanghai faction (Pudong Xingjun), and there are intense internal struggles within each faction.