(FILE)

Ma Weihua, President of China Merchants Bank (CMB), resigned from the post of the bank's Party chief, CMB announced on May 8. Ma's term as CMB president will end in June.

Ma started his job as CMB president 14 years ago, when the bank, with only 100 billion yuan ($16.13 billion) in assets, was reeling from the Asian financial crisis. He won recognition by managing reforms that optimized the bank's structure and boosted efficiency. His innovative moves have turned CMB from a regional bank in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, into the sixth largest lender by market value in China.