An ICBC executive may soon be taking up the post of vice president of the Agricultural Bank of China amid a wave of position changes in the country's major lenders.

Pan Gongsheng, board secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, quit his job for personal reasons and has been replaced by Gu Shu, director of the lender's finance and accounting department, ICBC told the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Pan was in charge of merger and acquisitions at ICBC and was director of the bank's shareholding reform office when it launched initial public offering process in 2004.

Shanghai Securities News cited sources as saying that ABC will soon appoint Pan as its vice president, and he is expected to accelerate the bank's restructuring and public listing.

ABC is the only big four state-owned commercial bank which has not finished its shareholding restructuring. Bank President Xiang Junbo said in an earlier interview that the lender would make a breakthrough in reforming its shareholding structure this year.

ICBC also said in the statement that it had appointed Yi Huiman to serve as its vice president and that former vice president Zhang Qu would be retiring.

In a separate statement, the China Construction Bank said that its vice president Zhao Lin had resigned because of a job change but didn't give details of his new position.

Media reports said that Zhao would be starting work as chief supervisor of ICBC.

(Shanghai Daily May 9, 2008)