On December 18, financial news reported (Reporter Liang Kezhi) that after the Central Economic Work Conference outlined a more proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy, financial news reporters noted that from December 17 to 18, local officials from Guangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and other provinces and regions conducted research on local Financial Institutions with the aim of promoting increased support from the Banking sector for the local economy before the January opening red.

Information from research in Guangxi and Wuhan indicates that apart from requiring "to adopt strong measures to stabilize and increase deposits, and to invest as much as possible to ensure that all operational Indicators for the year conclude successfully," the research leaders also emphasized "to seize the opportunities and challenges brought by the central government's moderately loose monetary policy; to align with a more proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy."

On December 18, a senior Business executive from a city commercial bank in Guangxi stated that the second half of the year is typically a slack season for Crediting, combined with insufficient demand from enterprises, the company’s Crediting data for the third quarter will be weaker; at the same time, considering the risks and accountability issues, the cautiousness regarding Crediting approval for market entities outside state-owned enterprises has increased, which also affects the scale of lending.

A report from Kaiyuan Securities on the 18th shows that in November, domestic loans from large and small Banks increased by 29.4 and 362.1 billion yuan year-on-year, respectively. As we enter the fourth quarter, the growth of credit in small Banks has slowed down, and the report indicates that enterprise Crediting demand remains to stabilize. Additionally, in November, large Banks' medium to long-term loans increased by 9.5 billion yuan year-on-year, while small Banks decreased by 161.5 billion yuan year-on-year, which may reflect that the asset management policy significantly impacts the credit scale of small Banks.

A Crediting personnel from a rural commercial bank in a southern city stated to financial news that in the current economic environment, if some duty exemption mechanisms can be implemented, with expectations gradually improving next year, it is estimated that the promotion of lending by local Banks will be more evident.

Keywords from research conducted by Banks: comprehensive, accelerate, high-quality development.

According to incomplete statistics, in the past two days, including Anhui Provincial Party Secretary Liang Yanshun visiting the Anhui Rural Credit Union Association for research, Hunan Vice Governor Wang Junshou visiting Caixin Financial Holdings and the Bank Of Changsha for research; Wuhan Municipal CPPCC Chairman Yang Zhi visiting Wuhan Financial Holding Group, Hankou Bank, and Wuhan Rural Commercial Bank; Guangxi Investment Group Chairman Zhou Lian visiting the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank for research discussions, etc.

Reporters from the Financial Association observed that during discussions with local officials, commonly mentioned keywords include comprehensive, accelerate, risk, and service to the local economy, reflecting the expectations of certain provinces for next year’s bank credit issuance.

Zhou Lian, Chairman of Guangxi Investment Group, stated that it is essential to "effectively enhance the quality and efficiency of service to the real economy, providing stronger financial support to fully achieve economic and social development goals."

Wang Junshou, Vice Governor of Hunan Province, requested that local financial institutions "identify their position in serving the overall interests of the province, and fully enhance the contribution of the financial sector’s added value to lay a solid foundation for a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan."

Insiders from urban commercial banks stated that in the past two years, the increase in market risks coupled with declining corporate expectations and credit demand has caused many urban rural commercial banks to hesitate in lending, with some even experiencing a substantial negative growth in credit.

At the same time, as Yang Zhi, Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of Wuhan, mentioned, for financial institutions, "the central government's appropriately accommodative monetary policy brings both opportunities and challenges."

A report from Kaiyuan Securities on the 18th indicated that in November, the domestic loans of major and small banks decreased compared to the same period last year by 29.4 billion yuan and 362.1 billion yuan respectively, with credit growth for small banks slowing down as they entered the fourth quarter.

The report analyzed that, in addition to the need for corporate demand to stabilize, November saw deposit-taking financial institutions’ corporate loans decrease compared to last year by 517.8 billion yuan, possibly due to weakened bank credit issuance dynamics in the fourth quarter and some high-interest urban investment loans being replaced by refinancing special bonds under debt relief policies.

Encouraging local banks to energize and boost next year’s micro-economy.

In the research, local officials are primarily encouraging Financial Institutions.

For example, Hunan Province's Vice Governor Wang Junshou encouraged Financial Institutions to learn to dance with risks during the research; focusing on development as a priority, making good use of incremental policies to "strengthen and improve".

Anhui Provincial Party Secretary Liang Yanshun specifically requested the Anhui Agricultural Union to develop localized and specialized financial products, promoting Rural Financial services to deeply integrate into rural governance and people's lives, and continuously enhance the financial services level for "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers", support for small and micro enterprises, and service for the local economic and social development.

According to research information released by Guangxi Investment Group early in the morning on the 18th, on December 17th, Guangxi Investment Group's Chairman Zhou Lian and General Manager Liu Minghong led a team to Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank, with the theme of "Learning and implementing the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, and coordinating the research for the completion of the 2024 and 2025 "14th Five-Year Plan"."

Zhou Lian expressed to the Chairman of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank Li Dongguo, President Yang Yuzhi, and others, that they should actively serve and integrate into the accelerated construction of a new development pattern, focusing on their main responsibilities and actively connecting with more proactive fiscal policies, moderately accommodative MMF policies, and various policy "combinations."

According to the official website, as of the end of November 2024, Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank's total Assets reached 510.17 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%; the growth rates of various deposits and loan balances exceeded 10%, and total operating income reached 20.108 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of only 1.8%. In addition, Beibu Gulf Bank "has accumulated more than 98.8 billion yuan in corporate loans over the past year, including over 10 billion yuan supporting the manufacturing industry."

In this regard, a credit person from a rural commercial bank in a certain prefecture-level city in South China stated to Caixin that originally, the city’s rural commercial banks are not large in scale, but their mechanisms are flexible and they are familiar with local businesses, giving them an advantage in financing for small and medium enterprises and private enterprises. In the current economic environment, if some mechanisms for due diligence exemption could be matched, it is expected to ease the pressure on banks for lending next year as the outlook gradually improves.