On June 23, Bank of Communications (ASX: 601328) announced that Liu Lei's appointment as the bank's Chief Information Officer has been approved. He will also concurrently serve as General Manager of the Financial Technology Department and President of the Financial Technology Innovation Research Institute.
It is understood that Bank of Communications was among the earliest domestic commercial banks to establish the position of Chief Information Officer. The first CIO, Hou Weidong, assumed the role in August 2004 and is considered the first CIO in China's banking industry. In October 2022, the bank's Vice President Qian Bin concurrently served as CIO until Liu Lei's appointment. Data shows that the bank's financial technology investment in 2025 reached 12.342 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.81%. Its fixed asset investment for 2026 was 4.068 billion yuan, of which 3.198 billion yuan, or 78.61%, was allocated to information technology.
Recently, there have also been changes among the bank's mid-level management personnel, involving the heads of the Head Office's Pension Finance Department and Inclusive Finance Department, as well as the presidents and vice presidents of several provincial branches.
Key Personnel Changes
Li Li, General Manager of the Head Office's Pension Finance Department, has been appointed President of the Liaoning Provincial Branch. Li Li holds a PhD in Management from Fudan University. Her previous roles at the bank include Deputy General Manager of the Human Resources Department and General Manager of the Personal Finance Department at the Shanghai Branch, Assistant President and Vice President of the Guizhou Provincial Branch, Vice President of the Shanghai Branch, and Deputy General Manager and General Manager of the Head Office's Pension Finance Department. This adjustment marks her return to a regional branch leadership role.
Gong Qing, former President of the Liaoning Provincial Branch, has been transferred to become President of the Hunan Provincial Branch. Gong Qing previously served as Vice President of the Hubei Provincial Branch and Vice President of the Shanghai Branch. He was appointed President of the Liaoning Provincial Branch in November 2023. Corporate registry information indicates that in June 2026, the responsible person for the Hunan Provincial Branch was changed to Gong Qing.
Liu Pengtao, former President of the Hunan Provincial Branch, has been appointed General Manager of the Head Office's Inclusive Finance Department (Rural Revitalization Finance Department). Born in 1972, Liu Pengtao graduated from the Finance Department of Xi'an Jiaotong University and holds the CIFA and EFP certifications. His career at the bank includes roles as Vice President of the Qingdao Branch, Vice President of the Shandong Provincial Branch, and President of the Dalian Branch. He was appointed President of the Dalian Branch in July 2021 and President of the Hunan Provincial Branch in 2023.
Yu Qichun, former General Manager of the Head Office's Inclusive Finance Department, has been appointed Party Secretary of Bank of Communications International Trust. Yu Qichun holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and an MBA from Tsinghua University. He joined the bank in 2012 and has held positions including Assistant President and Vice President of the Beijing Branch, Party Secretary and President of the Shandong Provincial Branch, and General Manager of the Head Office's Inclusive Finance/Rural Revitalization Department. In the first half of this year, Bank of Communications International Trust saw leadership changes. On March 27, the appointment of the company's new President, Yu Sang, was approved. On April 23, the company's former Chairman, Zhang Wen, was investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. On April 29, company director Xia Hualong was authorized to perform the duties of Chairman. Subsequently, Yu Qichun was transferred from the Head Office.
Xu Weihong, President of the Jiaxing Branch, has been promoted to Vice President of the Zhejiang Provincial Branch. He previously served as General Manager of the Personal Finance Department at the Zhejiang Provincial Branch. He was appointed President of the Jiaxing Branch in July 2021, and his appointment as Vice President of the Zhejiang Provincial Branch was approved in May of this year.
On May 22, Zhu Xiang's appointment as Vice President of the Guizhou Provincial Branch was approved.
As of the end of 2025, Bank of Communications had 38 provincial-level branches and directly-administered branches, 217 prefecture-level branches, and 2,821 business outlets. Among these, provincial-level branches are established in 31 provincial capitals and municipalities, 5 separately planned cities, as well as Wuxi and Suzhou.
Based on the career histories, the recent personnel adjustments primarily involve rotations between the Head Office, branches, and subsidiaries. This is aimed at strengthening the management cadre pipeline and building a high-quality management team with professional capabilities and cross-functional experience. From a business perspective, the changes involve leaders in financial technology, pension finance, and inclusive finance.
Business Development Focus
In the first quarter of 2026, Bank of Communications accelerated its digital and intelligent transformation. It deeply implemented the "AI+" initiative, focusing on key areas such as customer service, employee service, and risk management to promote the large-scale application of intelligent agents. It iterated and promoted key products including Bankcomm Shipping & Trade Finance, Yuntong Treasury, Cloud Interbank, and Jiaoxintong. It deepened the research, development, and application of the digital yuan, accelerating the development of its digital RMB business.
Data shows that as of the end of the first quarter, the bank's mobile banking monthly active users reached 52.1529 million, while its Banca mobile app monthly active users reached 25.067 million. The financing amount disbursed through its open banking online supply chain financial services was 82.219 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.77%. Its "Cloud Bank" remote video branch provided 1.3583 million services, a year-on-year increase of 122.20%.
In pension finance, with the goal of "building an elder-friendly bank," the bank continued to enrich its supply of pension wealth management products. The number of age-appropriate products for sale and the scale of pension fund custody ranked among the industry leaders. As of the end of 2025, the bank's pension fund custody scale was 3.41 trillion yuan; its outstanding loans to the pension industry were 6.762 billion yuan, an increase of 49.12% from the end of the previous year. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, loans to the pension industry grew by 6.77% from the end of the previous year.
In inclusive finance, the bank focused on strengthening financial support for key areas such as foreign trade, private enterprises, technology, and consumption. It promoted the shift from product-level credit to customer-level credit, increased support for loan renewals, and achieved full product and process coverage. At the end of the first quarter, the outstanding balance of inclusive loans to micro and small enterprises was 954.3 billion yuan, an increase of 4.86% from the end of the previous year.
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