Banker Suicide: A Sign of Trouble in the Chinese Economy?

Tianjin, China

The chairman of a bank in China’s northern city of Tianjin has been found dead in his office after his wrists had been slit, reports The South China Morning Post.

Yin Jinbao, who has only chaired Tianjin Rural Commercial Bank for less than a year, died at around 2pm on Saturday, according to Jinyun New Media. The report cited local police sources as saying the death was a suspected suicide.

Yin, 54, was promoted last year to become the chairman of Tianjin Rural Commercial Bank, one of major banks ultimately under control of the municipality’s government.

According to its latest quarterly report, the bank had 305 billion yuan (US$47.7 billion) in assets at the end of March.

Last year, its revenues were 7.1 billion yuan, down by 9.3 per cent from 2016, according to its annual report.

The British trade magazine The Banker rated it at number 319 in its list of the world’s top 1,000 banks last year.

Notes the SCMP, The death came at a time when there are growing signs of financial stress in the Chinese port city.

Tianjin, once a poster child of rapid growth, reported the lowest economic growth rate in all of China for the first quarter of 2018 at 1.9 per cent.

-RW