BEIJING - The deputy governor of China's central bank has been appointed head of the country's foreign exchange regulator, leading business publication Caixin reported on Tuesday.
Pan Gongsheng will retain his post as deputy governor while assuming the position as head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), Caixin reported, citing unnamed sources.
Pan, 52, previously held roles at Agricultural Bank of China Ltd and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd , the country's largest lender, before taking his position at the People's Bank of China, according to his biography posted on the central bank's website.
The outgoing head of SAFE, Yi Gang, will remain a deputy governor of the central bank as well as vice minister of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, according to the publication.
Yi was appointed as the head of SAFE in 2009.
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The central bank declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. SAFE did not immediately respond to a faxed request for information.
Pan's appointment comes amid an intensification of capital outflows following a surprise devaluation of the yuan on Aug. 11. The currency has continued to fall since then to its current 4-1/2 year low.
China's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, fell by $87.2 billion in November to $3.44 trillion, the lowest level since February 2013 and the third-largest monthly drop on record.
The announcement marks the second senior appointment at the FX regulator in as many months. The State Council, China's cabinet, named Yang Guozhong a deputy head in November, succeeding Wang Xiaoyi.
