At a recent party-building and quarterly work conference for Hangzhou United Bank, Deputy Party Committee Secretary Chai Leiying made her first public appearance in her new role, outlining key business priorities for the second quarter. This marks her official debut under her new title.
Following standard procedures, Chai Leiying is expected to assume the position of President at the bank after completing the relevant appointment formalities. An article published earlier this month in a state-run financial newspaper referred to Chai as the President of Hangzhou United Bank. However, a subsequent repost of the article by a provincial financial department's official account revised the title to Deputy Party Committee Secretary.
Typically, a candidate must first join the board of directors before being nominated as a presidential candidate. The nomination is then reviewed and formally appointed by the board. After internal decision-making processes are completed, the candidate's qualifications are subject to review by the national financial regulatory authority. The President can officially assume duties only after obtaining approval.
Currently, no related information has been disclosed on the official website of Hangzhou United Bank. Industry insiders note that while it is common for the roles of Party Committee Secretary and Chairman to be held by the same individual, and for the President to also serve as Deputy Party Committee Secretary, some banks have adopted a structure where the President also serves as the Party Committee Secretary, such as China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, and China Everbright Bank.
In September 2025, the then President of Hangzhou United Bank, Wen Yuan, suddenly stepped down from his roles as Executive Director and President, with no specific reasons disclosed for his resignation. Since then, Chairman Lin Shiyi has been acting as the interim President.
If appointed, Chai Leiying would become the fifth President in the bank's history and its first female President.
According to her resume, Chai Leiying was born in July 1977 and graduated from Zhejiang University with a postgraduate degree in finance. She is a senior economist and previously held positions at the Hangzhou Central Branch of the People's Bank of China, including Deputy Section Chief of the Monetary Policy Management Department and Section Chief of the Credit Policy Management Department. After joining Hangzhou United Bank, she served as Deputy Branch Manager of the Xihu Branch, and held various managerial roles in the headquarters, including Deputy General Manager and General Manager of the Risk Management Department, General Manager of the Small and Micro Business Department, and General Manager of the Retail Finance Headquarters concurrently overseeing the Small and Micro Business Department.
In 2019, Chai was promoted to Vice President of Hangzhou United Bank. In 2021, she was transferred to Wenzhou Bank as Vice President, gaining extensive experience in city commercial bank management. After stepping down in November 2024, she assumed the role of General Manager of the Retail Finance Department at Zhejiang Rural Commercial United Bank.
Public information shows that Hangzhou United Rural Commercial Bank originated from the restructuring of the Hangzhou United Rural Cooperative Bank, established in 2005, which was formed from the merger of the Hangzhou Urban Rural Credit Cooperative Union and 23 affiliated credit cooperatives. In 2011, it transitioned from a rural cooperative bank to a rural commercial bank. Currently, the bank has a registered capital of 2.18 billion yuan, operates 138 branches, and employs over 3,000 people, making it the financial institution with the most branches in Hangzhou's main urban area.
In 2025, the bank reported operating revenue of 11.276 billion yuan and a net profit of 4.910 billion yuan, representing year-on-year declines of 2.27% and 0.46%, respectively. Its non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.95%, an increase of 0.08 percentage points from the end of the previous year.