Small and medium-sized financial institutions continue their reform efforts, with over 70 rural and township banks approved for dissolution this year.

In recent days, more cases of “merging villages into villages” have emerged in the Tianjin area—Tianjin Huaming Village and Town Bank absorbed and merged with Tianjin Ninghe Village and Town Bank, and converted the latter into a branch institution. Both were initiated and established by Shandong Shouguang Rural Commercial Bank. Cases of “merging villages into villages,” “transforming from village to branch,” and “transforming from village to branch institution” are appearing frequently. To help resolve risks at rural small and medium-sized financial institutions, the ways village and town banks consolidate and restructure are becoming increasingly diverse. According to a review by a Securities Times reporter, as of April 20, more than 70 village and town banks have already received approval for dissolution this year. At the same time, including state-owned big banks and joint-stock banks, many banks are speeding up the “absorption” of their affiliated village and town banks; some banks have already achieved “zero” in the number of village and town banks they have newly established. (People’s Finance News)