Yiren Digital names acting head after chairman falls under criminal investigation

Fintech lender Yiren Digital Ltd. (YRD.US) on Tuesday named a new acting CEO, a day after disclosing that its Chairman and CEO Tang Ning was subject to a criminal investigation involving some of its affiliated companies.

Mei Na has been appointed as the company’s acting CEO, and will oversee day-to-day operations, Yiren Digital said. It added that Mei previously served as Yiren Digital’s CFO from 2020 to 2024 and is a certified public accountant.

In its earlier announcement on Monday, Yiren Digital said that it became aware of Tang Ning’s situation through a police notice published on Oct. 12, and that it had not directly received any official notice about the investigation. It added the investigation might prevent Tang from performing his duties as chairman and CEO, but said the company’s business operations remained normal.

On Monday, Caixin reported that Beijing police had launched an investigation into CreditEase after the company admitted that some of its financial products had defaulted and that it might be insolvent. CreditEase is Yiren Digital’s controlling shareholder with 82% of the company’s stock, according to Yiren Digital’s latest annual report.

Yiren Digital’s stock fell 18.7% on Tuesday, extending a 44% drop the previous day after the announcement of Tang’s involvement in the investigation. The stock is down about 88% this year.

By Doug Young

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