Two of the four deputy governors at China’s central bank will be replaced in the coming months, local media have reported, in a reshuffle that highlights the People’s Bank of China’s lack of independence.

Hu Xiaolian and Li Dongrong will vacate their posts, leaving Pan Gongsheng and Yi Gang as the remaining deputies to Zhou Xiaochuan, PBoC governor, who is also expected to step down in the next few years after holding the post since 2003.

Analysts say the move is unlikely to affect monetary policy in a system where senior Communist party officials outside the central bank approve key decisions such as changes to the benchmark interest rate and adjustments of the overall monetary stance from “l(fā)oose” to “steady” to “tight”, and nuanced variations in between.