On May 10, CIB held a special meeting on Techfin to deeply implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference, study and deploy strategies for making significant strides in Techfin, and mobilize the entire bank to contribute more to the building of a Scientific and Technological Powerhouse. The meeting was conducted both in-person and via video conference. CIB’s Party Secretary and Chairman, Mr. Lv Jiajin, delivered a speech, and the meeting was presided over by Party Committee Member and Vice President, Mr. Zeng Xiaoyang. Members of the Head Office Party Committee, key department heads, major domestic branch leaders, and relevant first-level branch leaders attended the meeting.
The meeting emphasized that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee has placed technological innovation at the core of national development. It has deeply implemented an innovation-driven development strategy, accelerated the advancement of self-reliant and self-strengthening technology, and built a Scientific and Technological Powerhouse. The Central Financial Work Conference held last year explicitly called for the successful implementation of five major areas: Techfin, Green Banking, Inclusive Finance, Pension Finance, and Digital Finance, with Techfin being the foremost. The entire bank must fully recognize the significant importance of Techfin, consistently transforming “major national concerns” into “key institutional tasks,” and regard Techfin as both a political responsibility and a significant opportunity. This involves providing full-aspect, full lifecycle, full chain, and full involvement, namely, the “Four Full” services, actively engaging in the field, pooling resources and efforts, and striving to excel in the domain of Techfin. The aim is to shape the bank’s unique advantages, seize opportunities, and aim to be at the forefront of the market.
The meeting emphasized the importance of accurately identifying the target customers for Techfin, focusing on government entities, research institutions, universities, enterprises, industrial parks, individual retail customers, and financial peers. This involves thorough policy research, regional analysis, and industry studies to create detailed customer profiles and effectively implement a comprehensive Techfin strategy. The goal is to continuously enhance the distinctive features of Techfin services, tightly integrating Techfin with the bank’s strategic transformation and development. It is essential to leverage the roles of Green Banking, Wealth Bank, and Investment Bank, the “Three Pillars of Our Businesses,” while achieving innovative breakthroughs in digital finance and international business. Moreover, timely improvements to the supporting mechanisms for Techfin are necessary, with a focus on organizational systems, risk approval processes, performance incentives, brand building, and personnel development to provide robust support for the growth of Techfin.
Since 2022, CIB has actively positioned itself in the new track of Sci-tech Finance, laying a solid foundation for making significant strides in Techfin. By the end of 2023, CIB’s Techfin customer base reached 159,600, a 30.61% increase from the beginning of the year. The balance of Techfin loans stood at 827 billion RMB, a 27.84% increase from the beginning of the year. Notably, the balance of loans to Specialized and Sophisticated enterprises, technology-based SMEs, and long-term loans to high-tech manufacturing industries ranked first among joint-stock banks. Additionally, CIB secured the largest scale of the People’s Bank of China’s Tech Innovation Re-lending among joint-stock banks.