Amid China’s Financial Crisis, Multiple Bank Executives Have Committed Suicide or Died Suddenly

As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to purge its financial system, state media recently revealed that a number of bank executives have committed suicide or died suddenly.

According to the authorities of Yingshan County, Hubei Province, Wang Shengyong, the president of the Yangtze River Village Bank in the county, died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Dec. 5 at the age of 54 years old. It was reported that Wang committed suicide after using his position to defraud depositors of 40 million yuan (about $5.6 million) under the guise of capital raising.

According to official media reports, Du Haitao, deputy general manager of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Credit Suisse Asset, died of a heart attack while running on Dec. 13 at the age of 49. Born in 1974, Du was deputy general manager of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., LTD. and chairman of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Co., LTD.

On Dec. 10, Gong Danzhi, the president of Huaxia Bank’s Tianjin branch, fell to his death. The local police station confirmed the news.

Based on business information, Gong Danzhi was appointed as the president of Huaxia Bank’s Tianjin branch in November 2020. Previously, he was the vice president of the bank’s Beijing branch and the president of its Beijing urban sub-centre branch.

Founded in October 1992 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in September 2003, Huaxia Bank is China’s fifth nationally listed bank, with 44 first-tier branches across the country and more than 40,000 employees. Shougang Group, a large-scale state-owned enterprise, is Huaxia Bank’s first major shareholder, with a shareholding of 21.68 percent.

In The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks 2019, Huaxia Bank was ranked 56th in terms of Tier 1 capital and 67th in terms of asset size. In the Forbes Global 2000 List (2019), Huaxia Bank was ranked 265th.

However, in 2023, Huaxia Bank was in a series of accidents and fined tens of millions of yuan.

On Dec. 20, the National Administration of Financial Regulation’s Taizhou Supervision Branch issued a fine of 300,000 yuan (about $42,000) for Huaxia Bank’s Taizhou branch.

On Sept. 26, Huaxia Bank’s Xiamen branch was fined 2.8 million yuan (about $391,700).

On Aug. 14, Huaxia Bank’s Nanchang branch was fined 1.985 million yuan (about $277,700).

On July 3, a number of Huaxia Bank’s branches and sub-branches were subject to regulatory penalties of 2 million yuan (about $279,800) for violations of laws and regulations.

On June 30, Huaxia Bank was fined a total of 1.45 million yuan (about $202,900) in five fines for a number of credit violations.

On June 2, Huaxia Bank’s Yingkou branch was fined 700,000 yuan (about $97,900).

On April 19, Huaxia Bank’s Shaoxing branch was fined 950,000 yuan (about $132,900).

Bank Presidents Die Due to Pressure

In 2023, at least 96 financial executives have fallen from grace, and 38 people have been investigated in the five major state-owned banks.

“The suicide of bank presidents show that the central [authority] doesn’t take responsibility anymore. Whoever lends out the money is responsible,” Wang Donglan (a pseudonym), former vice president of a bank in Shandong Province, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 20.

“In the past, enterprises were encouraged to operate in debt.

Some enterprises did not meet the conditions for loans, but through interpersonal connections, they got the loans anyway.

“No one asked about it for so many years. Now for the year-end check, someone must be held accountable, can the bank presidents not be anxious?

Which sum of money was loaned out without the presidents’ sign?

Choosing to commit suicide may be able to save their families or assets.”

On May 4, the Bank of Beijing released an announcement that Lin Hua, an independent director of the company, died at the age of 47 due to illness.

Mr. Lin, born in 1975, had an impressive resume. As a chartered financial analyst and financial risk manager, he did his MBA at the University of California, Irvine, and his PhD in applied financial sciences from the University of Geneva. He joined the Bank of Beijing’s board of directors in July 2022 and was an independent director of the bank.

Customers leave a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

According to public information, Lin was the chairman of Beijing Huacheng Functional Technology Co., Ltd. He was also the editorial board member of the journal Financial Accounting, the executive deputy director of the Asset Securitisation Professional Committee of the Insurance Asset Management Association of China, a member of the Enterprise Accounting Standards Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Finance, an independent non-executive director of China Merchants Land Asset Management, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Fifteenth Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Dongcheng District, Beijing, among other titles.

As of Dec. 7, CCP authorities reported that at least 96 cadres of the financial system had been investigated. Among them, there were 8 cadres under central administration, 71 cadres in central organs, state-owned enterprises, and financial departments, as well as 17 cadres under provincial administration. In 2022, the number of people under investigation in the financial system was 77. Since the CCP’s figures have long been questioned, the real number may be higher.

“A lot of middle and senior executives in many departments now died of sudden death or heart disease.” Wang Donglan said. “There are all sorts of discussions online, from death by disease to side effects of vaccines.”

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