The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will be a 21st-century multilateral lender withrigorous corporate culture, its first president said on January 17.

It will have a "lean staff" and will strive to avoid red tape, according to Jin Liqun.

Jin, making his debut appearance as the bank’s president, said at a news conference thathe envisions a bank that is "clean, lean and green".

It will combine the merits of existing multilateral development banks and competitiveprivate companies, he said.

“I’m committed to running the bank according to the highest possible standardsandaccording to the principles outlined in the articles of agreement " transparency, openness,accountability and independence," said Jin, who spoke in English.

He vowed to set a "clear division of responsibility" between the bank’s board andmanagement, saying there will be a special unit on compliance, effectiveness and integrity,which will exercise oversight of the management and report directly to the board.

To fulfill the "lean" commitment, staff members in the bank’s first year will only beincreased to between 100 and 150. The initial staffing level is 50.

Referring to the "clean" commitment, Jin said implementation of this is crucial.

"It is important that you don’t just have something brilliant on paper, it is important toimplement it.... As president of the bank, I will ensure that the oversight mechanism isimplemented without any compromise."

(China Daily  January 18, 2016)