Deutsche Bank's Lee Zhang to join ICBC

Deutsche Bank is losing one of its most senior Chinese investment bankers, Lee Zhang, to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in a high-profile appointment by the Chinese government, the German bank confirmed in a statement yesterday.

Zhang, 45, who has worked at Deutsche Bank for 10 years and holds the dual posts as China chairman and head of global banking for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, has been appointed vice-president of ICBC. The appointment is subject to the approval of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, according to a filing with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

This is the first senior management position at a major Chinese bank to be filled externally by an executive from a foreign bank, a rare practice in China's state-run institutions where senior management is routinely relocated from another state-owned firm or directly from the government.