Beijing has appointed a new governor at the People’s Bank of China amid ongoing economic and market pressures in the country.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee appointed Pan Gongsheng as governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), according to the country’s state media. Pan succeeds Yi Gang who has reached the official retirement age of 65 after he was named governor in 2018.
Pan, 60, joined PBOC in 2012 and was most recently its deputy governor. Previously, he held senior positions at state lenders, including ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China. He was also the former head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the regulator that oversees China’s foreign reserve of $3 trillion.
In addition, Pan was also named as the Communist Party's secretary at PBOC earlier this month, making him the first individual to simultaneously occupy the central bank’s top two posts since 2018, under Zhou Xiaochuan. This could streamline decision-making, a potentially relevant advantage as Beijing seeks to boost growth momentum amid a slowdown.
