THE senior executives at China's sixth-largest lender and a regional city bank are the latest among high-profile bankers being investigated for alleged corruption.

Tao Liming, president of the Postal Saving Bank of China, is "assisting investigation into a personal economic problem," the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Media reports had earlier said Tao was being questioned on possible violation of lending rules.

Chen Hongping, another bank official in charge of capital operation, was also assisting the probe but the bank's business continues as normal, the statement said, without giving details.

The bank declined to offer further information yesterday.

Tao has been put under "double designation," an investigative procedure under which Party officials are requested to confess or explain wrongdoings, Caixin said yesterday, citing an internal document of China Post Group.

The procedure is usually followed by intensive investigation, removal from position, and a court trial.

Also yesterday, the head of Yantai Bank, a regional lender in Shandong Province, was reported to have been detained by the police for alleged involvement in corruption cases.

Zhuang Yonghui, chairman of the bank, was being questioned on suspicion of receiving bribes and earning 150 million yuan (US$24 million) by using bank's funds to trade its shares, Caixin Media reported yesterday.

More than 30 staff members and managers from the bank, in which Hong Kong-based Hang Seng Bank holds 20 percent, were also involved, the report said.

Zhuang's case emerged after Liu Weining, a former manager in a bank branch, was detained in Zhejiang Province in early February on suspicion of embezzling 436 million yuan from the bank.

Source:shanghaidaily