Rural loan agencies allowed to restructure
25 October 2007
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) announced that small rural loan agencies, which are currently only allowed to issue loans, may be restructured into village banks or lending companies, Economic Observer reported (in Chinese). Small agencies with sufficient capital adequacy ratios could apply to provide savings services, which will be supervised by the CBRC. Chinese farmers and rural enterprises currently have few places to access funds for their businesses. The move aims to improve financial services in rural areas.