JPMorgan top China executive close to departing: source

Fang, who has been at the bank for more than a decade, has told the bank he wants to retire, the source said. It was not clear whether Fang's departure is related to the probe of JPMorgan hiring practices in Asia.

A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported Fang's departure, saying an internal announcement about the departure could come as early as Monday.

U.S. authorities have been investigating whether JPMorgan and other Wall Street firms violated bribery laws by improperly hiring the relatives of well-connected Chinese officials.

JPMorgan has provided U.S. prosecutors with emails from Fang, who is also the bank's vice chairman of investment banking in Asia, discussing the hiring of China Everbright Group Chairman Tang Shuangning's son, the Journal reported.

The U.S. bank has stopped working on two China initial public offerings while the investigation is being carried out, including a $3 billion listing by China Everbright Bank Co.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecutors from the Justice Department are examining whether the employment of Tang's son helped JPMorgan win assignments from Everbright, the Journal added.

Representatives for JPMorgan and China Everbright did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the hiring of Tang's son.

Other firms that have come under scrutiny for their hiring practices in Asia include Citigroup , Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley .

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in NEW YORK and Lawrence White in HONG KONG; Editing by Eric Walsh and Edwina Gibbs)