China’s big state-owned lenders have already completed their 2021 full year targets for micro-and-small enterprise (MSE) lending, following a push from Beijing for greater financial inclusion.
Liu Gui (刘桂), deputy-governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said the big state-owned banks have all completed the target of at least 30% growth in financial inclusion MSE loans in 2021, as outlined by the Government Work Report (政府工作报告) at the start of the year.
Over the past two years all of the big state-owned banks in China have exceeded the annual financial inclusion MSE loan targets set by Beijing. These banks include Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), Bank of Communications (BOCOM), China Construction Bank (CCB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC).
ICBC lead growth in financial inclusion MSE loans in the first half, with the total rising to 1.011895 trillion yuan as of the end of June, for an increase of 291.95 billion yuan, or 40.4%, compared to the start of the year. The number of MSE loan clients was 727,000, for an increase of 136,000.
ABC’s financial inclusion MSE loan balance was 1.242399 trillion yuan at the end of June, for an increase of 289.76 billion yuan, or 30.4%, compared to the end of last year. Growth in MSE loans was 21.4 percentage points ahead of growth in other forms of lending.
BOC’s mid-year report indicates that its financial inclusion MSE balance stood at 781.6 billion yuan at the end of June, for an increase of 35.8% compared to the end of last year, well ahead of growth in all lending. The average interest rate for BOC’s new financial inclusion MSE loans was 3.94%.
CCB’s financial inclusion MSE loan balance stood at 1.71 trillion yuan at the end of June, for an increase of 288.382 billion yuan compared to the end of last year. The average interest rate for CCB’s financial inclusion MSE loans was 4.17%, for a decline of 0.19 percentage pints compared to the end of last year.
CCB’s financial inclusion MSE clients stands at 1.8018 million, for an increase of 106,000 compared to the end of last year.
BOCOM’s financial inclusion MSE loan balance was 293.568 billion yuan at the end of June, for an increase of 66.525 billion yuan, or 29.3%, compared to the end of last year.
