12 Agricultural Commercial Banks in Sichuan Approved for Dissolution on Same Day, Provincial United Bank to Take Stakes in Three Institutions

Deep News
昨天

Sichuan's rural credit reform has taken another significant step forward. On October 9, according to disclosures from the Sichuan Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, 12 agricultural commercial banks within Sichuan Province received approval for dissolution on the same day. These institutions will be absorbed and merged by Guangyuan Agricultural Commercial Bank, Guang'an Agricultural Commercial Bank, Ziyang Agricultural Commercial Bank, and Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank, marking substantial progress in the reform of city-level unified legal entity agricultural commercial banks.

On the same day, Guangyuan, Guang'an, and Zigong Agricultural Commercial Banks also received approval for equity changes. Through share transfers and new subscriptions, Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank is expected to become the largest shareholder of these three institutions.

Previously, the four city-level agricultural commercial banks mentioned above had successively reviewed relevant reform proposals to accelerate their restructuring work. On September 30, Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank had already held its city-level unified legal entity unveiling ceremony.

"Sichuan has relatively rich experience in establishing city-level agricultural commercial banks, with a large number of institutions and mature operational models. Currently, only a few prefectures and cities have not yet completed the establishment of city-level agricultural commercial banks, and it is expected that all will be completed in the near future," Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher at China Merchants Union Finance, noted.

**City-Level Unified Legal Entities Continue to Emerge**

On October 9, the Sichuan Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration disclosed that 12 agricultural commercial banks within Sichuan Province received approval for dissolution on the same day.

According to the approvals, Qingchuan Agricultural Commercial Bank, Cangxi Agricultural Commercial Bank, Wangcang Agricultural Commercial Bank, and Jiange Agricultural Commercial Bank will be absorbed and merged by Guangyuan Agricultural Commercial Bank; Huaying Agricultural Commercial Bank, Yuechi Agricultural Commercial Bank, Linshui Agricultural Commercial Bank, and Guang'an Siyuan Agricultural Commercial Bank will be absorbed and merged by Guang'an Agricultural Commercial Bank; Anyue Agricultural Commercial Bank and Lezhi Agricultural Commercial Bank will be absorbed and merged by Ziyang Agricultural Commercial Bank; Fushun Agricultural Commercial Bank and Rong County Agricultural Commercial Bank will be absorbed and merged by Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank.

In this reform, the four agricultural commercial banks serving as absorbing parties are city-level agricultural commercial banks, while the 12 banks being absorbed are all county-level agricultural commercial banks. Upon completion of the merger, all business operations, assets, creditor's rights and debts, and other rights and obligations of the 12 banks will be inherited by the corresponding city-level agricultural commercial banks.

Since the beginning of this year, Guangyuan, Guang'an, Ziyang, and Zigong have successively launched the establishment of city-level unified legal entity agricultural commercial banks. Public information shows that at the end of February, Guangyuan City convened a kick-off meeting for the establishment of city-level unified legal entity reformed agricultural commercial banks; on April 15, Guang'an Agricultural Commercial Bank held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to review proposals related to establishing a Guang'an city-level unified legal entity agricultural commercial bank; on April 16, Fushun Agricultural Commercial Bank and Rong County Agricultural Commercial Bank held their first extraordinary shareholders' meetings of 2025, reviewing proposals related to establishing a Zigong city-level unified legal entity agricultural commercial bank reform work; meanwhile, Ziyang Agricultural Commercial Bank also announced it would hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on April 25 to review a series of proposals including the establishment of a Ziyang city-level unified legal entity agricultural commercial bank reform working group, with reforms proceeding steadily.

The approval for dissolution of the 12 county-level agricultural commercial banks means that the related city-level unified legal entity reform has entered substantial implementation. Previously, on September 30, Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank had already held its city-level unified legal entity unveiling ceremony. Zeng Hongyang, Party Secretary of Zigong City, stated at the ceremony that the successful establishment of the city-level agricultural commercial bank marks a new starting point for government-bank collaboration in deepening financial reform and promoting high-quality local financial development.

"County-level agricultural commercial banks generally face problems such as small asset scales, simple business structures, and weak risk resistance capabilities, making it difficult for them to independently cope with market competition and risk challenges. Through mergers and restructuring, the original scattered operating pattern can be broken, resources can be concentrated, and management can be unified, effectively reducing systemic risks and improving overall operational efficiency," Bai Wenxi, Deputy Director of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told reporters.

**Provincial United Bank Becomes Largest Shareholder of Multiple Agricultural Commercial Banks**

On October 9, Guangyuan Agricultural Commercial Bank, Guang'an Agricultural Commercial Bank, and Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank simultaneously received approval for equity changes. According to the approvals, through share transfers and new subscriptions, Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank will hold 393 million shares, 486 million shares, and 415 million shares respectively in Guangyuan Agricultural Commercial Bank, Guang'an Agricultural Commercial Bank, and Zigong Agricultural Commercial Bank after completing the changes, with shareholding ratios of 14.61%, 16.02%, and 22.76% respectively.

A review of the 2024 annual reports of the three agricultural commercial banks reveals that their equity structures are generally quite dispersed, with each having over 1,400 shareholders and legal entity shareholdings not reaching 60%. As of the end of 2024, the largest shareholders (including related parties) of all three banks held less than 10% of shares.

Against this backdrop, after the completion of this equity change, Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank is expected to become the largest shareholder of these three agricultural commercial banks.

Dong Ximiao noted that previously, Sichuan Province had over a hundred banking legal entities that were scattered and relatively small in scale, with relatively weak overall risk resistance capabilities. Therefore, promoting the establishment of city-level agricultural commercial banks has become a more suitable reform path for risk mitigation. After the establishment of city-level agricultural commercial banks, it is a natural and necessary measure for the provincial agricultural commercial united bank to take stakes in them. Through equity ties, management and services to city-level agricultural commercial banks can be strengthened and enhanced.

In fact, Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank is accelerating the implementation of its "province invests in cities, cities invest in counties" strategy, successively taking stakes in multiple city-level agricultural commercial banks within the province and becoming their major shareholders. On September 29, its official website disclosed directed issuance situation reports for eight city-level agricultural commercial banks: Neijiang, Deyang, Mianyang, Ya'an, Yibin, Suining, Meishan, and Luzhou; on September 19, Liangshan Agricultural Commercial Bank's directed issuance situation was also published.

The sole issuing target for all nine agricultural commercial banks mentioned above is Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank. Upon completion of the issuances, Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank will respectively hold 13% of Neijiang Agricultural Commercial Bank, 11% of Deyang Agricultural Commercial Bank, 16% of Mianyang Agricultural Commercial Bank, 10% of Yibin Agricultural Commercial Bank, 10% of Suining Agricultural Commercial Bank, 14.5% of Meishan Agricultural Commercial Bank, 10% of Luzhou Agricultural Commercial Bank, and 10% of Liangshan Agricultural Commercial Bank, becoming the largest shareholder of these eight institutions; it will also hold 3.55% of Ya'an Agricultural Commercial Bank, ranking as its third-largest shareholder.

In September 2024, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Finance issued the "Notice on Filing the Implementation Plan for Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank's 'Province Invests in Cities, Cities Invest in Counties' Investment and Shareholding," requiring Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank to promptly conduct asset verification, asset evaluation, and other work, and fulfill filing procedures according to regulations. At the same time, it required Sichuan Agricultural Commercial United Bank to refine and improve specific "province invests in cities" investment and shareholding plans.

"It should be particularly noted that after the establishment of city-level agricultural commercial banks, they should no longer continue the previous positioning and management model as branch offices or audit centers," Dong Ximiao emphasized. As independent legal entities, city-level agricultural commercial banks should be granted complete operational and management authority. "Provincial agricultural commercial united banks or provincial agricultural commercial banks need to clarify their positioning and truly treat them as independently operating legal entities. This is an issue worthy of attention in the current process of promoting the establishment of city-level agricultural commercial banks. Research and summarization of city-level agricultural commercial bank models should be strengthened," Dong Ximiao further stated.

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