Quick Take: Former Central Bank Chief Economist to Head Research Center at Tsinghua

Former central bank chief economist Ma Jun revealed to Caixin he is now the head of Tsinghua University’s Finance and Development Research Center.

Ma’s stint at the People’s Bank of China lasted about three years. In April 2014, he was poached from Deutsche Bank, as the central bank tried to bring in experts from the market to push for the internationalization of the yuan and the development of green finance.

Ma, 53, was the bank’s first external hire to take up such a senior expert role. It is not clear now who will be Ma’s successor and from where the person will be hired.

The Finance and Development Research Center, established in 2016, is a think tank under the Tsinghua PBC School of Finance, a joint venture between the central bank and the country’s elite Tsinghua University.

According to the institute’s website, its focus is policy research into financing for the real economy, precautionary measures of financial risks, financing related to the “One Belt One Road” initiative, green finance and the development of finance in emerging markets.

Ma will stay on as the chairman of Green Finance Committee of the China Society for Finance & Banking, to continuously push the national strategy on green finance.

Contact Reporter Leng Cheng (chengleng@caixin.com)