Guo Shuqing appointed head of China banking commission

Guo Shuqing, governor of Shandong province, speaks at the two sessions in Beijing, Mar 23, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

Guo Shuqing, governor of Shandong province, was appointed chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission on Friday.

He replaced Shang Fulin, 65, who has served as CBRC chairman since October 2011 and reached retirement age.

Born in August 1956, the 60-year-old Guo had rich experience in the financial sector before he went to Shandong. He was named vice-president of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in 2001. He became chairman of China Construction Bank Corp in 2005 and chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2011.

Some analysts said the appointment is a prelude for China to push forward reforms of the current financial regulation system, which is divided into the banking, securities and insurance sectors. Headed by the People's Bank of China, the power of regulation is scattered among different regulators by sectors.

With the rapid growth of cross-sector financial services and products, many academics are calling for integration of the financial regulation system to put all these products under unified regulations and prevent regulatory arbitrage.

Guo Shuqing (second to the right) is greeted by colleagues at the headquarters of China Banking Regulatory Commission, as he arrives in Beijing to attend the upcoming two sessions on Feb 24, 2017.[Photo/cnstock.com]