"Those who understand the business best manage compliance," Can Lv Xiaoping safeguard the risk control gate of Zheshang Securities?

Produced by | Business Era

Editor | Li Xiaoyan

On April 3, Zheshang Securities officially announced that Lü Xiaoping has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer. This veteran of Zheshang, who has won the “Zheshang Star” trophy four times, is not an “outsider” brought in from nowhere. She previously led her team to achieve the top per-capita revenue in equity investment banking, and she also spearheaded the market-making business at the Beijing Stock Exchange, generating profits at the million-level. Now that she has taken up the banner of compliance rectification, can Lü Xiaoping transform her more than ten years of investment-banking commitment to what is “difficult but correct” into the core confidence for Zheshang Securities to reshape its compliance system?

If we look only at her resume, Lü Xiaoping is not a typical “legal-oriented” compliance leader. Her career path runs from research to wealth management, then to institutional business, and ultimately to the investment banking line, with experience that nearly covers the main risk exposure scenarios faced by securities firms. Such a background gives her a stronger ability to “penetrate business operations to identify risks” at the current point in time when compliance problems are concentrated and erupting, and it also better aligns with regulators’ risk-control requirements that emphasize “substance over form.”

In 2024, Lü Xiaoping received the “Zheshang Star” award for the fourth time. In her view, the value of this award is not in the honor itself, but in the fact that it coincides with the “double ten-year” milestone of her investment banking career and the establishment of the headquarters for SME investment banking. In 2014, she shifted from the familiar tracks of research, wealth, and institutional business to investment banking—an almost “zeroing out and restarting,” taking on the task of building an SME investment banking team. At that time, this choice did not have advantages in short-term returns, but serving SMEs was a “difficult but correct” direction within the company’s strategy.

Through practice, Lü Xiaoping gradually established a methodology of “professionalism, self-discipline, and gratitude.” She views professional capability as the underlying asset of investment banking, and internalizes self-discipline and compliance requirements as the team’s conduct standards. Under her leadership, the team built a project gradient and a talent structure, forming a cycle from project initiation to mentorship, from submission to application and issuance. At the same time, they used initiatives such as the “Double Hundred Action” to go deeper into regional enterprises, strengthening project reserves and customer stickiness. In 2023, the investment banking line where she served achieved leading per-capita revenue, validating the effectiveness of the strategic choice.

Turning back to the present, Zheshang Securities is not facing a single isolated problem, but a typical “systemic aftereffect of expansion outpacing internal controls.” In 2025, Zheshang Securities achieved total operating revenue of 8.841 billion yuan, up 35.95% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.412 billion yuan, up 24.87%. However, at the start of 2026, Zheshang Securities’ compliance defense line was repeatedly breached. Weaknesses in suitability management at branches, as well as concentrated exposure of gaps in headquarters custody and subsidiary controls, rapidly magnified the structural shortcomings in the compliance system.

Under the constraint of a clearly defined compliance rectification timeframe set by regulators, time has become the scarcest resource. The advantage of internal promotion is amplified right now—no need for ramp-up, directly reaching the execution level. Lü Xiaoping’s familiarity with the organizational structure and business processes enables her to quickly pinpoint the root causes of the problems and drive rectification to implementation, which is also the practical basis for her receiving unanimous support from the board of directors.

Of course, the challenges Lü Xiaoping faces should not be underestimated. On the one hand, the rectification tasks are heavy and the timeline is short; she must meet regulators’ rigid requirements while avoiding “over-contraction” of business. On the other hand, after moving from a business responsible role to a compliance coordinating role, how to establish independence and authority, and draw clear boundaries between efficiency and risk, will directly determine the effectiveness of her reform.

From an industry perspective, Zheshang Securities’ choice is somewhat representative. Against the dual backdrop of tightening regulation and rising business complexity, a compliance model oriented solely toward legal affairs or institutions is facing diminishing marginal utility. Meanwhile, composite talent that combines business understanding with risk-control capability is becoming a key variable in the upgrade of securities firms’ compliance systems. Lü Xiaoping’s taking up the post is both a response to the company’s stage-specific issues and an active adaptation to this trend.

From an investment banking standout who earned the “Zheshang Star” award four times to a compliance commander entrusted with the mission in a time of crisis, Lü Xiaoping’s transition reflects Zheshang Securities’ exploration of a “business-oriented compliance” model—and it is also a snapshot of how securities firms, during a period of strict regulation, are reshaping their compliance systems and returning to the core of their service mission.