Since the 18th CPC National Congress, ICBC, as a large state-owned bank, has played a strong role in supporting small and micro enterprises while strengthening and improving financial services for small businesses. According to statistics, over the past five years, ICBC has granted loans worth seven trillion yuan to small and micro enterprises. As at the end of this June, outstanding loans to small and micro enterprises amounted to RMB 2.13 trillion and 96.7% loan applicants could get loans, making ICBC the leading bank in loans to small and micro enterprises. In addition, ICBC has saved almost RMB 25 billion for small and micro enterprises in the past five years by reducing service fees.

An ICBC official said that financial service for small business is an important part of serving the real economy and boosting bankwide transformation. In recent years, ICBC has prioritized the needs of small and micro enterprise with remarkable results through a series of measures including mechanism optimization, product innovation, service improvement, resource allocation and targeted evaluation.

In optimizing mechanism, ICBC has established the Inclusive Finance Department based on the original Small and Micro Enterprise Banking Department, and set up an organizational structure system to develop inclusive finance business and boost  small business banking, targeted poverty alleviation and agriculture-related financial services. ICBC has also accelerated development of special institutions for small business financial services by setting up small business banking centers in  prefecture-level cities and counties, establishing credit experts teams, and implementing specialized, centralized and standardized operations to achieve one-stop processing for small businesses. The whole management process from due diligence to approval of credit can be finished within seven working days. As at the end of June, nearly 200 small business centers were launched and put into operation, covering more than 60% of small and micro enterprise loans and becoming the major channel for serving small businesses.

In product innovation, ICBC has launched a series of financing products integrating online and offline services based on features of small business financing such as short term, high frequency and urgency First, ICBC has applied information technology to innovate inclusive financial products. By using Internet technology, ICBC has created Online Revolving Loan, a financing product exclusively available online, benefiting 90,000 small and micro enterprises with its rapid loan approval. As at the end of June, loans worth RMB 2.2 trillion had been processed. ICBC’s online small amount financing service launched this year combined internal data mining analysis and external data cross validation to delineate profiles of small businesses, and provide loan support based on customer credit status. Totally RMB 300 million has been issued to nearly 800 small and micro enterprises in only half a year, generating no non-performing loans. Second, ICBC has strengthened cooperation between banks and governments to provide financial support to small and micro enterprises that have growth potentials but lack of collateral. For example, ICBC launched Government Subsidy loan in 2015, using new guarantee structure featuring enterprise + risk compensation from governments to expand the coverage of small and micro enterprise banking. As at the end of June, the Government Subsidy loan has benefited 3,375 borrowers with a loan balance of RMB 12.1 billion and non-performing rate of 0.42%. ICBC has also worked with the Finance Department of Jiangsu Province to establish the financing fund to support small and micro enterprises to start businesses and taken it as credit enhancement support to grant small entrepreneurship loans. As at the end of June, a total of RMB 31.7 billion loans were granted to support more than 8,000 prospecting start-ups with limited assets and in dearth of funds. Third, ICBC has provided solutions to problems ailing small and micro enterprises. Loan extension products have been launched in light of the demand for consistent use of money. Small businesses with normal production and operation as well as good credit conditions can use funds under the same terms of the original loan, easing repayment pressure. As at the end of June, ICBC extended loans for more than 9,700 small businesses with a value of nearly RMB 140 billion. Each enterprise had loans extended twice on average. For medium and long term financing needs for expansion, ICBC has launched standard factory mortgage loans, operation-backed property loans and other products with terms of five to ten years. The loan balance is nearly RMB 20 billion. In response to the demand for personalized financial services for technology companies, ICBC Beijing Branch launched a comprehensive financial service package for technology companies in Beijing, covering 30 financial products such as financing, settlement and investment banking to meet full-life financial needs of start-ups covering establishment, growth, maturity and listing. As at the end of 2016, RMB 74.6 billion of loans were granted to technology companies in Beijing.

On service improvement, ICBC has focused on individual needs of small and micro enterprises, and endeavored to provide more localized service. In the second half of last year, management from the Head Office led teams to conduct on-site research in more than 10 small businesses and communicate with over 60 representatives to understand their needs and solve their difficulties. By analyzing prevailing condition of each company, ICBC has launched a series of initiatives to improve services. For example, by leveraging strength in outlet network and technology, ICBC has integrated financial services with public services to launch Enterprise Link, providing one-stop services covering commercial registration, account opening, settlement and financing. Enterprise Link has spared customers from troubles incurred by unfamiliarity with the registration process, not only saving the agency fee but also improving the efficiency of registration. Up to now, more than 646,000 small and micro enterprises have been registered via Enterprise Link.