AgBank and CCB appoint chairmen

Reshuffle in China’s financial leadership brought about appointment of Jiang Chaoliang as Agbank chair and Wang Hongzhang as CCB chairman.

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp., two of the country's largest banks, announced new chairmen Monday amid a reshuffle in China's financial leadership.

AgBank, China's largest rural lender by assets, said in a statement the banking regulator had approved the appointment of 54-year-old Jiang Chaoliang, a former president of China Development Bank, as its chairman.

Mr. Jiang replaces Xiang Junbo, who led the bank through a historic public listing and left the bank to become China's insurance regulator chief in October.

The lender also said it appointed Gong Chao, a senior economist, as vice president, pending approval from China's banking regulator. The state-owned lender said Friday its vice president, Zhu Hongbo, had resigned, citing a "work arrangement," without elaborating.

China Construction Bank, the country's second-largest bank by assets after Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., said in a separate statement it had appointed Wang Hongzhang as chairman and executive director. Mr. Wang replaces Guo Shuqing, who took a top government job as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in November.

View the full story in The Wall Street Journal.