Former China Construction Bank Veteran Under Corruption Probe

What’s new: Guo Jizhuang, a former president of China Construction Bank Corp.’s provincial branch in Northwest China’s Qinghai, is under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of law and Communist Party discipline, graft-busters announced in a statement (link in Chinese) on Friday.

Guo, 66, retired in September 2015 after nearly seven years as president of the branch. He joined the branch in 1977.

China Construction Bank is one of the country’s four biggest state-owned commercial lenders by assets.

What’s the background: China has stepped up anti-corruption efforts in the financial sector in recent years. In November, Gu Guoming, a former president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.’s (ICBC) Shanghai branch, was expelled from the Communist Party and all public posts for alleged serious corruption. ICBC is the country’s largest state-owned commercial bank.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Related: Update: Executive of China’s Largest Bank Accused of Taking Enormous Amount of Bribes

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@Caixin.com)