The Bank of China (BOC) will take the lead to use new titles for managers and abolish those tinted with official characteristics in the latter half of this year.

The announcement was made by Xiao Gang, president of the BOC, at the Spring Membership Meeting of the Institute of InternationalFinance, Inc. (IIF), on Friday.

Separating bank posts from official titles will help break the official rank standard or "official rank taken as the only criterion for judging one's social worth", which has long been used in the Chinese bank system, said Xiao.

Managing staff in Chinese banks have long used titles similar to government departments, such as "Juzhang" or director general, "Chuzhang" or section chief and "Zhuren" or director.

The BOC has over 100 director generals, over 500 deputy-director generals and over 1,000 section chiefs. After the reform,the bank will employ titles such as department manager, senior manager and assistant manager, said Wang Zhaowen, a spokesperson for the BOC.

Obviously, it is a step in the right direction and the role transfer from officials to professional bankers will not only benefit the bank itself, but also help reduce China's financial risks, said IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara.

After the State Council selected the BOC and the China Construction Bank for pilot reform as joint-stock banks, the BOC has been undergoing various reforms, especially in its personnel system, but it will result in no large-scale unemployment since all the redundant staff will be given new positions within the bank, said Xiao.

With 92 years of history, the BOC is the most internationalizedstate-owned commercial bank in China and its profits overruns all other domestic banks.

Source: Xinhua