In recent days, the former branch managers of the four major banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China in Zhejiang, have all fallen in the current wave of financial anti-corruption, sparking heated discussions online.
On May 27th, the official website of the Qiantang River Financial Research Institute in Zhejiang suddenly displayed a blank space under the “Current Leadership” section, and the information of former director Shen Rongqin disappeared. After a friend from the financial sector in mainland China disclosed this information to a reporter from The Epoch Times, the reporter verified that indeed Director Shen Rongqin’s resume is currently inaccessible.
According to the Global Times on May 30th, Shen Rongqin, former branch manager of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Zhejiang Province, was taken away for investigation on May 27th.
Public records show that Shen Rongqin worked at the People’s Bank of Xianju County in Zhejiang Province early in his career before joining Industrial and Commercial Bank, where he served as the deputy branch manager and branch manager of Xianju Branch, deputy branch manager and branch manager of Taizhou Branch, and deputy branch manager of Zhejiang Provincial Branch. In 2006, Shen Rongqin left Zhejiang and was transferred to be the branch manager of Industrial and Commercial Bank in Shandong Province. He returned to Zhejiang in 2011 and became the branch manager of Industrial and Commercial Bank of Zhejiang Province.
Earlier on May 7th, Feng Jianlong, former branch manager of Agricultural Bank of China in Zhejiang Province, voluntarily surrendered and accepted investigation.
On April 22nd, CaiTong Securities announced that due to personal reasons, independent non-executive director Gao Qiang was unable to perform his duties. Then on April 29th, Gao Qiang was announced to be under investigation.
In April last year, Guo Xingang, former branch manager of Bank of China in Zhejiang Province, accepted investigation. In the same year in December, he was arrested.
With this, Shen Rongqin becomes the fourth top official of a branch office to fall from grace after Guo Xingang of Bank of China, Gao Qiang of China Construction Bank, and Feng Jianlong of Agricultural Bank of China. These four individuals falling from grace have been dubbed the “Zhejiang Branches’ habitual bad egg quartet” online.
This news has also sparked discussions on social media. “Xing Jun,” who worked in the banking sector in Beijing for ten years, sighed on May 28th, saying, “What’s been going on in the banks recently? The four big banks have all come together. Who is the most anxious at this moment?”
He also quipped, saying that Shen Rongqin, once hailed as the “caring elder” by the employees, has not been able to land safely even after eight years of retirement. “Back in the day, these four used to have meetings together frequently, giving advice for the development of the banking industry. Are they going in for a meeting or gathering to play mahjong now? It seems like they have each other for support even in dire situations.”
Some netizens within the banking system expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “The lower levels are pressured to complete various tasks, and now the higher-ups are being taken away. What about all those messy tasks completed by the lower levels, do they all benefit the higher-ups?!”
Mr. Huang, who works in a bank in Beijing, said on May 30th, that it’s not difficult to understand why all branch managers of the four major banks have fallen. He further analyzed, “The resources controlled by branch managers and the benefits they receive are not in line. Take the example of the Beijing branch; the branch managers have loan approval authority ranging from hundreds of millions to over twenty billion, but their compliant annual income is only between 1 to 2 million. Although the income is not low, it is significantly disproportionate to the power they hold.
“The more power one has, the greater the potential for financial gains. They don’t even have to actively seek gains as hoards of people will come flocking to ‘cooperate’ with them. Walking the path of no return is a common phenomenon.”
In addition, Yu Liming, former branch manager of Hangzhou Bank in Zhejiang, was also taken away for investigation on April 2nd.
According to reports from mainland China, in the authorities’ “purge” of the financial sector, 87 people were investigated in 2023, including 8 central-level officials; in the whole of 2024, a total of 97 individuals were investigated, including 3 central-level officials and 15 regulatory agency officials.
In 2025, in January, Che Deyu, former branch manager of Bank of China in Tianjin, and Zhao Hui, deputy branch manager of Agricultural Bank of China in Sichuan, were successively investigated. On March 21st, Wang Huimin, former party committee member of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and leader of the Disciplinary Inspection Team stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was investigated, becoming the first central-level official to fall from grace in the financial field in 2025.