Bank of Communications Financial Leasing (BoCom FL) is in the midst of a changing of the guard, but company officials believe strategy and operations at a shipping level will not be affected.
However, all deals that are awaiting board and top-management approval will be delayed until new bosses get their feet under their desks.
No drama is seen in the shift, which includes 10 or more officials in the state-owned bank's management, both centrally in Shanghai and in provincial branch headquarters.
Until now, BoCom FL's leadership has been in the hands of Chen Min, who has served both as chairman and president of the bank-owned leasing company, over shipping, aviation, and other asset class sectors.
Dual role
But Chen has now served his maximum term of eight years in the dual chairman-president position.
His successor as chairman, Zhao Jiong, will not take on Chen's role as president of BoCom FL. The new president has not been named yet.
Zhao comes from management of BoCom Investment and will have to be briefed on leasing in shipping and other sectors.
Observers say financial leasing is the most profitable activity for the majority of the state-owned banking groups, and shipping is increasingly important within financial leasing.
Fang Xiuzhi, BoCom's Shanghai-based head of shipping, is not willing to comment on pending transactions or details of the ongoing executive success. But he told TradeWinds: "I am confident of the support shipping will receive from the new chairman and president."
