Zhou Feng's promotion has been notably rapid. He was appointed President of Zhongyuan Bank in October 2025, became Vice Chairman in November of the same year, and his qualifications for these roles were not formally approved until January 2026. Merely six months later, Zhou Feng has now ascended to the top position at the bank.

On April 21, Zhongyuan Bank announced a complete overhaul of its top leadership. Guo Hao resigned as Chairman due to work reassignment. Zhou Feng has succeeded him in the role and has consequently resigned from his positions as President and Vice Chairman. Zhang Tao has been appointed as the new President of the bank.

Zhou Feng, born in 1977, holds a doctoral degree. Prior to joining Zhongyuan Bank, he served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Henan Provincial People's Government and Vice Mayor of Puyang City in Henan Province. He also has work experience at the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's Henan office. Similar to his predecessor Guo Hao, Zhou possesses experience in both local government administration and financial regulation.

Guo Hao also holds a doctoral degree. Before joining Zhongyuan Bank, his career included roles such as Deputy Secretary of the Hebi Municipal Committee and Mayor of Hebi City, Deputy Secretary-General of the Henan Provincial Government, and Deputy Director of the Henan Provincial Government Financial Services Office. Zhou Feng's background aligns with the bank's customary approach for selecting its top leader.

His new counterpart, Zhang Tao, joins from a position at Henan Rural Commercial Bank. From February 2025 to April 2026, Zhang Tao served as Vice President and Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee at Henan Rural Commercial Bank. Zhang Tao's career began in a major state-owned bank, and he has experience in compliance work, having previously held the position of General Manager of the Internal Control and Compliance Department at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's Henan branch. In 2023, he joined Henan Rural Commercial Union Bank, where he was involved in the integration and restructuring of provincial-level rural commercial banks, as well as risk identification and resolution efforts.

The new leadership duo of Zhou Feng and Zhang Tao is expected to provide significant support to Zhongyuan Bank in areas such as compliance governance and risk control.

Over the past three years, Zhongyuan Bank has experienced steady expansion. By the end of 2025, its total assets had exceeded 1.4 trillion yuan. While the bank's revenue and net profit showed some fluctuation in previous years, 2025 marked a return to growth in both metrics. For the full year 2025, the bank achieved operating income of 26.507 billion yuan, an increase of 2.1%, and a net profit of 3.576 billion yuan, up 3.1% year-on-year.

Stability is positive. However, stability also indicates that progress has not been substantial. As the next helmsman, Zhou Feng's tasks remain considerable.

Although asset quality has shown slight improvement, Zhongyuan Bank's non-performing loan ratio remains relatively high within the industry, and its provision coverage ratio is on the lower side. As of the end of 2025, the bank's NPL ratio stood at 1.96%, down 0.06 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The provision coverage ratio was 165.75%, an increase of 10.72 percentage points from year-end 2024.

On another front, the bank's cost-to-income ratio remains elevated at 38%. From 2023 to 2025, the bank's cost-to-income ratios were 40.07%, 38.80%, and 38.34%, respectively. In 2025, the bank's operating expenses reached 10.501 billion yuan, an increase of 51 million yuan, or 0.5%, compared to the previous year.

Zhongyuan Bank has also been continuously reducing its workforce. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the bank cumulatively reduced its staff by 1,516 employees. As of the end of 2025, the bank had a total of 18,094 employees, a reduction of 202 from the end of the previous year.

The bank is also engaged in recouping compensation. In 2025, the bank recovered 13.5715 million yuan in performance-based clawbacks, following the recovery of approximately 20.1 million yuan in 2024. Over the two-year period, the total amount of performance pay recouped exceeded 30 million yuan.

In his address within the 2025 annual report, Zhou Feng wrote: "Chasing dreams across mountains and seas, one does not perceive the distance; the road ahead is long, but we will stride forward boldly." The future path of Zhongyuan Bank will now be charted under Zhou Feng's leadership.