China has dispatched one of its most senior finance bureaucrats to take over China Construction Bank, the country's second-largest lender, just days after its chairman resigned under the cloud of corruption allegations. CCB announced last night that Guo Shuqing, a vice-governor of the central Bank in charge of China's foreign exchange regulatory body, had taken over as its party secretary.

Mr Guo, who was educated at Oxford and has a good command of English, may help CCB quickly re-establish much-needed credibility with foreign investors.