Suspended death sentence for banker

A senior Chinese banker has been given a suspended death sentence for corruption, bringing to a close a scandal that shook the local banking sector and saw numerous senior executives purged from its ranks.

The sentence, suspended for two years, handed down to Liu Jinbao, formerly head of the Bank of China offices in Shanghai and then Hong Kong, sends a signal to foreign investors before the bank's overseas listing that the authorities are intent on combating financial corruption.

The Bank of China is now negotiating to sell stakes to high-profile foreign investors, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company, and UBS brokerage, before its initial public offering.

Suspended death sentences such as Mr Liu's are usually commuted to life in prison, which would still be a much more severe punishment than those handed down to other senior Chinese bank executives convicted in recent years of similar offences.

As with a number of similar cases recently, Mr Liu and three junior colleagues were tried in Changchun, in the north-east of the country, distant from the commercial centres of Shanghai and Hong Kong where they had been stationed.

Mr Liu was convicted of embezzlement and taking bribes.