Former Head of Bank of Guizhou Investigated for Graft

Xu An, the former head of Bank of Guizhou Co. Ltd., is currently under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. This investigation comes two months after Xu was removed from his position as president of the bank. The details of the investigation have not been disclosed by the Guizhou branch of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, but such probes typically relate to corruption charges[para. 1].

Xu An, who is 61 years old, had been serving as the president of Bank of Guizhou since April 2018. He was also acting as the deputy party secretary for the state-owned city commercial bank, which is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He was removed from both of these roles in March 2023[para. 3].

Prior to Xu’s investigation, a significant number of senior officials associated with the bank have also been scrutinized. In October 2023, Li Zhiming, a former chairman of Bank of Guizhou, was placed under investigation. Li Zhiming and Xu An had a professional relationship spanning about three years and worked together during this period[para. 4]. On the same day that Li Zhiming's investigation was announced, the provincial anti-graft body also declared an investigation into Li Mingwei. Li Mingwei was the former general manager of Guizhou Water Conservancy Investment Group Co. Ltd., which is one of the major shareholders of the Bank of Guizhou[para. 5].

The financial health of Bank of Guizhou has recently been into question, particularly in terms of its real estate loans to government-owned entities. The non-performance rate for such loans significantly escalated from 20% at the end of 2022 to 40.39% by the end of 2023, based on the bank’s latest annual report[para. 6].

This increasing trend of non-performance in real estate loans and the subsequent investigations could signal deeper financial and managerial issues within the bank and among its affiliated entities[para. 6].

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Contact reporter Denise Jia at huijuanjia@caixin.com[para. 8].