Zhou Liang, 46, has been appointed as a vice chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), according to a brief statement released on the regulator’s website on Thursday.

Most appointments to China's financial regulatory agencies are rightly greeted with a yawn. The naming of Zhou is different. 

Previously Zhou was the head of the organization department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the country’s top anti-corruption watchdog.  

At a time when the watchdog and other regulators are squeezing financial institutions, his presence is likely to ratchet the pressure.

It's little surprise that at least one of Wang Qishan's lieutenants is moving into a financial watchdog. The graft-buster increasingly focused on the financial sector during his last months on the job, taking on titans such as Wu Xiaohui, head of Anbang Insurance, and Xiang Junbo, chairman of the insurance regulator. 

Zhou may seek to finish the cleanout, and perhaps institutionalize the anti-corruption campaign inside regulatory agencies. Throughout his involvement in finance – especially his time fighting crises in Guangdong – Wang has been willing to take on powerful bankers and their regulatory patrons.

Zhou's appointment will likely add fuel to an already raging fire. The central bank is leading a charge to root out financial chicanery this year.

The CBRC plays supporting technical and enforcement roles. On Wednesday, it released draft regulations on liquidity management designed in part to wean banks off risky short-term funding. It has also slapped nearly 1,500 financial institutions with a total 667 million yuan (101 million US dollars) worth of fines in the year to October, including last week on China Minsheng Bank, the country's biggest private bank.