World’s Biggest Bank to Welcome 30 Year Veteran of China Construction Bank as President

1912

China and the world’s biggest bank in terms of assets is set to welcome a 30-year veteran of another big state-owned lender as its new president.

On 25 February the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announced that its board had voted to appoint 56-year old Liao Lin (廖林), currently ICBC’s chief risk officer, as president, deputy-chair and authorised representative.

Liao Lin is a veteran of the Chinese finance sector, having previously worked for state-owned lender China Construction Bank (CCB) for a period of over three decades.

Liao’s career with CCB saw him assume the roles of deputy president of the Guangxi Autonomous Region branch, president of the Ningxia Autonomous Region branch, president of the Hubei province branch, president of the Beijing municipal branch, as well as chief risk officer and deputy president for the bank itself. At the end of 2019 Liao was appointed deputy-head of ICBC.

Liao was born in 1966 and is a graduate of Guangxi Rural University. He also holds a PhD in management from Chengdu’s Southwest Jiaotong University.

He first joined CCB in July 1989, and was appointed deputy-head of the Guangxi branch at the end of 2003. During the period from September 2018 to November 2019 Liao served as deputy-president of CCB, while concurrently holding the position of chief risk officer.

In November 2019 Liao was appointed deputy-president of ICBC, and in April 2020 was appointed its chief risk officer, before being appointed executive director in July.

According to a report from Securities Journal Liao Lin is regarded by colleagues in the banking sector as modest, cautious and pragmatic.