Tian Huiyu Photo: Xinhua

China Merchants Bank's former Party secretary and president Tian Huiyu has been put under disciplinary investigation by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the State Commission for Supervision on suspicion of serious violations of discipline, the top anti-graft authorities announced on Friday.

The investigation into Tian came after China's top anti-graft body recently vowed to strengthen supervision of public officials in the financial industry, as part of a broad push to prevent systemic risks in the capital market.  

Tian was removed from his post at the bank several days ago, generating widespread attention and affecting the bank's stock prices. 

The bank's stock on the local A-share market closed at 42.50 yuan per share on Friday, a rise of 2.96 percent from a day earlier,  following a 8 percent decline on Monday, the largest decline in years, when the news of Tian's sudden removal came to light.

Tian's investigation also became a hot search topic on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Friday, with 10.5 million viewers and thousands of comments as of press time, with many praising the authorities' determination to tackle corruption in the financial system.

In an article last week, the CCDI pledged to strengthen supervision to prevent risks and maintain the stable operation of capital markets, saying that efforts will be taken to maintain a strong and persistent crackdown on corruption across the capital markets, and to identify and respond to emerging problems in a timely manner.

Tian's investigation on Friday also comes after several bank executives faced disciplinary punishment over the past month.

According to the official website of the CCDI, four bank executives were expelled from the Party and public offices between March 27 and April 2, including Lu Jinwen, former Party committee member and vice president of the Guangdong branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.