Supporting Private Companies and Small and Micro Businesses

The Bank used on-lending and direct loans as the two major tools to help micro and small businesses meet challenges posed by COVID-19. By the end of 2020, the outstanding loan balance for micro and small business amounted to RMB453.603 billion, up by 15.01% from the beginning of the year. In terms of on-lending loans, the Bank seized the window of opportunity in the capital market to increase credit supply and provided RMB96.53 billion of on-lending loans to 67,000 micro and small businesses. The outstanding balance of on-lending loans for micro and small businesses stood at RMB97.438 billion at the year end, up by 84.9% from the beginning of the year. The average interest rate of new on-lending loans fell by 0.81 percentage points year on year. By controlling both the on-lending loan interest rate and the rate at the recipient side, the Bank managed to lower on-lending loan interest rate of those regions hit hard by the pandemic to the benefit of micro and small enterprises there. In providing direct loans, the Bank integrated both policy-based goals of keeping the supply chain and industrial chain stable and supporting micro and small businesses, and tapped into the potential of the supply chain. Innovative development of direct loan business was accelerated and financial services were provided to micro and small enterprises in the upstream of the supply chain through products such as E-factoring and Baolitong.