Marginalized top talent left regulator in droves ahead of stock market implosion

Low salaries and a lack of promotions drove an exodus of overseas returnees with international finance experience from the China Securities Regulatory Commission in advance of this year’s stock market tumult, leaving mainland exchanges in the hands of officials who don’t understand markets, Reuters reported, citing unnamed former and current officials, as well as industry insiders. A former CSRC official, one of a group of 20 high-profile returnees from abroad, recalled the commission’s appeal to make “sacrifices for the motherland” as Beijing sought to hire them on the cheap during the 2008 financial crisis. Now, said an official at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the pace of people leaving appears to be accelerating.