EXCLUSIVE-China's financial regulatory head Li Yunze demoted, sources say

China's top ‌financial ​regulator, Li Yunze, has been demoted due to what is being treated as a suspected disciplinary violation, according to sources familiar with the matter, in the latest instance of a high-level official getting caught up in ‌Beijing's sweeping financial-sector cleanup.

China's top ‌financial ​regulator, Li Yunze, has been demoted due to what is being treated as a suspected disciplinary violation, according to sources familiar with the matter, in the latest instance of a high-level official getting caught up in ‌Beijing's sweeping financial-sector cleanup. Li, 55, oversaw thousands of financial firms including banks, insurers and trust firms in the country's $79 trillion financial sector as the head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).

The sources, who have knowledge of the matter, declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. The NFRA, the Organization Department ‌of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which appoints senior government officials and the State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to ‌Reuters requests for comment.

Li, who could not be reached for a comment, will be given a mid-level position at the financial regulator, the sources said. As of Wednesday evening, Li's name and photograph had been removed from the list of the regulator's leadership team on its website, according to a Reuters review of the page.

The demotion comes at a ⁠time when ​China's financial sector is grappling with mounting ⁠pressure from a prolonged property crisis and slowing economic growth. Li's last known public appearance as the NFRA's head was on April 22, when he attended a meeting in Beijing on ⁠launching a campaign to step up prevention and crackdowns on illegal financial activities in China, according to a statement from the financial regulator.

The news on Li comes a week ​after state news agency Xinhua reported that Zhou Liang had been removed as NFRA deputy head. Zhou was earlier placed under investigation ⁠over a suspected violation of law and discipline, state media reported in March. Over the past couple of years, Beijing has sought to consolidate control over supervision of the financial industry, while cracking ⁠down ​on corruption and targeting what officials have described as the lavish lifestyles of bankers.

In September, China's anti-graft watchdog said it had launched an investigation into Yi Huiman, a former head of the securities regulator, after he was unexpectedly ousted in February 2024. Li was appointed head of the NFRA ⁠in May 2023, two months after the enlarged national regulator was established as part of a government overhaul to strengthen oversight of the financial sector.

He was ⁠the first official born in the ⁠1970s to attain a ministerial-level post at a central government agency. Before heading the NFRA, he served as vice governor of Sichuan province starting in 2018, where he oversaw financial sector supervision. His career was built largely in ‌China's state banking sector, spanning ‌more than two decades at two of the country's largest lenders.