May 28, 2009

Bank of China Chairman Xiao Gang, 51 years old, has been at the helm of China's third-largest bank for six years. He presided over the bank's historic initial public offerings on the Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses in 2006.While preparing for the listings, the bank boasted of roots in China far deeper than those of international banks, and more overseas business than any other Chinese bank.In recent years, however, this has proven a double-edged sword as appreciation of the yuan has squeezed Bank of China's business overseas.

The financial crisis delivered another blow. And results from the bank's domestic operations have been overshadowed by other state-backed commercial banks.The key to whether Bank of China can turn itself around may lie in a new slogan Mr. Xiao likes to stress: Expand in scale and improve the structure.Mr. Xiao was interviewed recently by Wen Xiu, a reporter for Caijing Magazine, a business and finance publication based in Beijing.