In January 2025, Jiangsu Rural Commercial Bank and Jiangxi Rural Commercial Bank were approved for establishment; In 2024, Sichuan Rural Commercial United Bank, Guangxi Rural Commercial United Bank, and Hainan Rural Commercial Bank will be listed and opened for business; In 2023, Shanxi Rural Commercial United Bank, Liaoning Rural Commercial Bank, and others will successively open... In order to clarify management mechanisms and promote risk resolution, various regions will explore the reform mode of rural credit cooperatives according to local conditions. In recent years, reform plans for rural credit cooperatives have been implemented or made new progress in many places, and the reform paths are different. Recently, local two sessions have been held one after another, and many places have disclosed their reform plans for rural credit cooperatives in their 2025 government work reports. The reporter found that the government work reports of Jiangxi, Guizhou and other places proposed to actively establish or accelerate the opening of banks planned for the reform of rural credit cooperatives by 2025. Multiple interviewees have stated that some regions are facing significant risks and pressures to resolve, and it is necessary to promote reforms in multiple steps and stages. Many regions have revealed their reform plans for rural credit cooperatives in the 2025 government work report, and several new trillion yuan level banks are on the verge of coming out. What are the key tasks for 2025? In the government work report, Jiangxi mentioned promoting the listing and opening of Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank; Xinjiang mentioned to do a good job in the "five major articles" of finance, actively establish Xinjiang Rural Commercial Bank, develop financial products that adapt to the economic structure and development needs of southern Xinjiang, and better nourish the real economy with the source of financial vitality; Henan mentioned that the key tasks for this year include accelerating financial reform and development, completing the establishment of Henan Rural Commercial Bank, and improving the functional positioning and governance mechanism of small and medium-sized financial institutions; Guizhou mentioned promoting the reform and implementation of rural credit cooperatives, establishing Guizhou Rural Commercial Union Bank, deepening the coordination of central and local supervision, and improving the risk prevention and resolution mechanism for local small and medium-sized financial institutions. On January 20th, the State Administration for Financial Regulation announced its agreement to establish Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank. The preparatory work group shall strictly handle the preparatory matters in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and complete the preparatory work within 6 months from the date of approval. Not long ago, Jiangsu Rural Commercial Bank was approved for establishment. As early as April 2024, Jiangxi Rural Credit Cooperatives held a general meeting of members, which approved the proposal to cancel the legal person qualification of Jiangxi Rural Credit Cooperatives and establish Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank Co., Ltd. It was decided to initiate the establishment of Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank and establish Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank Co., Ltd. (tentative name) on the basis of Jiangxi Rural Credit Cooperatives. On this basis, new trillion yuan banks may emerge one after another. For example, according to the official website of Jiangxi Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, there are currently 85 legal entities in the Jiangxi Rural Commercial Bank system. As of the end of 2024, the total assets of rural commercial banks in Jiangxi Province exceeded 1.3 trillion yuan, with a deposit and loan scale of nearly 2 trillion yuan. According to the official website of Jiangsu Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, as of the end of 2024, the total assets of Jiangsu Rural Commercial Bank system were 4.75 trillion yuan, with deposit and loan balances of 3.84 trillion yuan and 3.1 trillion yuan, respectively. According to the local government work report for 2025, the reform of rural credit cooperatives in many regions will accelerate in 2024. The reform of rural credit cooperatives in Sichuan, Guangxi, and Hainan has been implemented, and Sichuan Rural Commercial United Bank, Guangxi Rural Commercial United Bank, and Hainan Rural Commercial Bank have been unveiled and opened. At the beginning of 2025, new progress has been made in the reform of rural credit cooperatives in Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces. In terms of reform mode, Liaoning, Hainan and other places have adopted the provincial rural commercial bank model with a unified legal person, while Zhejiang, Shanxi, Sichuan, Guangxi and other places have adopted the rural commercial joint bank model. There is no superiority or inferiority in the reform mode, and the focus and order of reform vary in different regions. Each region needs to choose the reform mode according to local conditions, "a spokesperson from a provincial news agency in northwest China told reporters. In the 2025 government work report of Guangxi, the establishment of Guangxi Rural Commercial United Bank is one of the key areas for deepening reforms in Guangxi in 2024. Guangxi Rural Commercial United Bank will be unveiled and open for business on February 6, 2024. Focusing on the review of work in 2024, many regions emphasized in their 2025 government work reports that they have effectively resolved risks in key areas and improved their ability to resist risks. Gansu mentioned that by 2024, all means will be exhausted to resolve risks in real estate, local debt, and small and medium-sized financial institutions. 10 high-risk regulatory institutions will exit, 94 financing platforms will be reduced, a decrease of 35.9%, and nearly 70000 housing units will be delivered through guaranteed delivery, maintaining the bottom line of no systemic risks; Liaoning mentioned that the risks of Jinzhou Bank have been effectively handled, the overall reform of the agricultural credit system in the province has been basically completed, and the risks of other small and medium-sized financial institutions have been steadily resolved; Henan mentioned that local small and medium-sized financial institutions have achieved phased results in reforming insurance. The above-mentioned person from a provincial cooperative in the northwest region stated that focusing on the reform of rural credit cooperatives, the key tasks for 2024 include two aspects: on the one hand, accelerating the establishment of a unified legal person rural commercial bank at the prefecture level, laying the foundation for the deepening reform of the province's rural credit system; On the other hand, risk management includes both stock risk and incremental risk. Only by minimizing the scale of non-performing assets and improving asset quality to the greatest extent possible can reforms be carried out more smoothly. In the process of risk disposal, asset divestment is quite troublesome. Most of our mortgaged assets are real estate, which makes disposal difficult. "A person from a rural commercial bank in Northeast China explained to reporters based on local conditions that the provincial cooperative is jointly invested by the rural credit cooperatives or rural commercial banks within its jurisdiction. Therefore, from the perspective of equity, the rural credit cooperatives or rural commercial banks within its jurisdiction are its shareholders. However, in terms of management structure, the provincial cooperative can control the personnel appointments and business development of shareholders, and the rights and obligations of shareholders are limited, resulting in unequal relationships between rights and obligations. Only by clarifying the equity relationship can we realize that whoever contributes has the right to make decisions. At present, the overall reform of rural credit cooperatives is carried out in accordance with the principle of "one province, one policy", deepening the reform through classified policies and steadily promoting risk resolution. Resolving risks is always a top priority. The pressure to resolve risks is relatively high in some regions, and the clearance of existing non-performing assets is the key to risk reduction, many of which are historical legacy issues. At present, some provinces invest in provincial banks through provincial government platforms to undertake or resolve risks A spokesperson from a provincial cooperative in southwestern China said. Several industry insiders have stated that while streamlining equity relationships and strengthening corporate governance, rural small and medium-sized banks should continuously cultivate their internal strength and play a greater role in supporting local economic development. The "National Rural Small and Medium sized Bank Institutions Industry Development Report 2024" released by the China Banking Association in 2024 shows that as of the end of 2023, the balance of agricultural loans for rural small and medium-sized banks will be 16 trillion yuan. At the same time, many regions have proposed in their government work reports that by 2025, they will better coordinate development and security, effectively prevent and resolve risks in key areas. Jiangxi mentioned that it is necessary to prudently handle the risks of small and medium-sized financial institutions and strictly prevent newly increased risk banking institutions; Yunnan mentioned promoting the reform of high-risk financial institutions into insurance companies; Hunan mentioned promoting the coordination of central and local supervision, implementing "one bank, one policy" to promote the reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions into insurance, accelerating the disposal of major cases of illegal fundraising, cracking down on illegal financial activities in accordance with the law, and resolutely guarding the bottom line of preventing systemic risks. (New Society)