BNY Mellon makes China promotions after RMB roll-out

BNY Mellon has made two key promotions in China, where it is on a drive to expand its renminbi services to institutional clients.

Caleb Shih, a 17-year veteran of BNY Mellon, will take on the role of general manager of its Beijing branch, relocating from Shanghai where he has been working in the bank’s depository receipts department.

The appointment, subject to regulatory approval, will see Shih replace Larry Chen, who is leaving BNY Mellon at the end of June, according to a bank spokesperson.

Shih will also manage relations with clients and Chinese regulators as a client executive within the global client management division. He will report to Eleni Wang, BNY Mellon head of global client management for Asia-Pacific.

Meanwhile, Sunny Sun Xiao-Xia has been appointed to the newly created role of head of global client management in China, where she will aim to grow BNY Mellon’s investment management services for institutional investors on the mainland. She will also report to Wang, who is based in Hong Kong.

Sun, who joined BNY Mellon in 1998, had served as a relationship manager in the corporate banking division in New York before taking on the role of China country desk officer in the Asia-Pacific division. She has been based in Beijing since 2003, when she was appointed deputy representative of BNY Mellon’s operation in the capital.

The promotions follow BNY Mellon’s roll-out of RMB services this year after it was granted a licence in February to carry out local currency functions. The firm offers RMB foreign exchange and money market services from its Shanghai branch, and offshore RMB and settlement services to corporate clients in Hong Kong.

RMB services are a major focus of its business activities in China and BNY Mellon is investing heavily, says Steve Lackey, BNY Mellon's Asia-Pacific chairman. The bank says it is seeing a rise in client demand for RMB services as the currency becomes increasingly internationalised.