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Banks expected to strengthen private business services

By Shen Ji (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-22 11:48

China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has undertaken frontline investigation to solve the lingering problem of funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The research results will be handed in to the State Council.

"Under tightened monetary policies, we should pay more attention to satisfy the funding demands for SMEs that comply with the industrial development arrangement," said Yang Jiacai, an official with CBRC, when conducting the market surveys in Shenzhen.

"We will encourage the national banks and other banking institutes to expand their network and services and improve their risk management to grow up with the SMEs," he noted.

Liu Yuan, director of CBRC Shenzhen bureau, said "alleviating SME's loan difficulties should be regarded as a social responsibility of the banks".

By the end of June, outstanding loans to SMEs in Shenzhen amounted to 244.9 billion yuan, up 13.5 percent from the beginning of 2008.

Wang Zhaoxing, vice-chairman of the CBRC, encouraged the five State-owned commercial banks to develop business relationships with SMEs.

"While limiting the growth in the amount of credit, commercial banks have to make sure that the increase in loans given to SMEs isn't slower than the average growth of all loans," Wang told reporters in mid-March.

He asked the big five banks to adjust their credit structure and shift their focus from large corporations to SMEs.

The industry watchdog will also make adjustments to ensure the department overseeing the five State-owned lenders will also coordinate the financial services to the SMEs, he added.

Many banks, including foreign lenders, started to focus on SME services this year.

Shenzhen Ping An Bank, the banking arm of Chinese financial conglomerate Ping An Group, which mainly targets retailing customers and the SME market, introduced a package of products to facilitate financing SMEs shortly after its official launch last year.

Under Ping An's new plan, SMEs can get a loan credit of under 500,000 yuan without a mortgage or guarantee. It also promises to approve loans within 15 days.

"We have given great emphasis to increasing the percentage of loans to SMEs, to provide all-around financial services," Ye Wangchun, vice-president of Ping An, said in an interview late last year.

Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB), a mid-sized listed lender based in Shenzhen, said it would continue to strategically focus on retail lending, trade finance and SME markets.

Compared with large corporations, SMEs are more willing to develop a long-term relationship with the bank, and they are more grateful of its services since they have limited fundraising channels, SDB Chairman Frank Newman said in a press conference on the lender's annual results.

Standard Chartered Bank China announced plans this year to place an emphasis on business development for SMEs financial services and develop SMEs in the second-tier mainland cities.

HSBC China also kicked off its special services recently to help SMEs explore overseas markets by improving their financial efficiency and through tailor-made cross-border trade and financing resolutions.