Bank of China Ltd. Chairman Xiao Gang is expected to leave the state-owned bank by year-end, paving way for the chief likely position in the country's central bank, online news portal Netease reported, citing unnamed sources.

As president of China's most international bank, and a new face emerged into the country's key policy making party, Xiao Gang is widely seen as a potent successor to central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan.

Mr. Xiao, 54, was named as a full member of the Communist Party's Central Committee at the party congress earlier this month. Membership in the committee is required for holding a cabinet-level position such as the central bank chief. He is the only executive of a state-owned bank who made it onto the list as a full member.

Zhou, aged 64, was unconventionally left out of the China Communist Party's Central Committee at the 18th Congress, fueling speculation that he may step down as governor of the People's Bank of China as he approaches the required retirement age for Chinese minister-level officials.

The report added that if Mr. Xiao were not made central bank chief he would have a strong chance for heading another financial regulatory agency such as the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Other candidates include Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and Lou Jiwei, chairman of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. Both are full members of the central committee.

Xiao Gang is widely seen as a capable new star in China's financial area, with a proven track record at Bank of China. He previously served as a vice governor of the People's Bank of China, and took up a concurrent post as a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee.