According to the latest update on Shanxi Rural Commercial Bank's official website, on November 16, Xiang Dihai, the newly appointed Party Committee Secretary of the provincial bank, conducted a research visit to Jinzhong to assess risk mitigation and reform efforts in the rural commercial banking sector. This public engagement marks Xiang Dihai's official assumption of the role as Party Committee Secretary of Shanxi Rural Commercial Bank.
Born in 1976, the 49-year-old Shaanxi native and Communist Party member holds a Ph.D. and has dedicated over two decades to fiscal and financial sectors since starting his career in July 1998. His career trajectory includes serving as Deputy Director of the Environmental Resources Division in the Ministry of Finance's Social Security Department, Director of the Economic Construction Department, and later as Deputy Director of the Shanxi Supervision Bureau under the Ministry of Finance. In August 2020, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of Shanxi Provincial Government (at the departmental level) before his current role.
During the Jinzhong visit, Xiang reviewed reports from the Jinzhong Management Center, Pingyao Rural Commercial Bank, and Yuci Rural Commercial Bank, engaging with frontline staff and emphasizing reforms, risk management, development strategies, team-building, and Party construction. Nie Hongwei, the bank's Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President, accompanied the delegation.
As a pivotal outcome of Shanxi's rural credit reform, the establishment of Shanxi Rural Commercial Bank has drawn significant attention. The bank, restructured from the former Shanxi Rural Credit Cooperative, began preparations in December 2022 with a founding assembly, officially launching in February 2023 under a dedicated task force. It commenced operations on November 17, 2023.
As one of China’s first provincial-level rural commercial joint banks adopting a "top-down" restructuring model, Shanxi Rural Commercial Bank operates under provincial government authorization to manage, guide, coordinate, and serve regional rural commercial banks (credit cooperatives). Through voluntary participation and phased equity investments, it drives comprehensive risk resolution and reform across the province’s rural financial sector.
Currently, the bank boasts an extensive network: 11 municipal branches, 108 county-level institutions, and 3,005 service outlets with nearly 50,000 employees, making it Shanxi’s largest financial institution by coverage, scale, and workforce. With deep local roots, it is also the province’s first and only financial institution to surpass RMB 1 trillion in deposits.
Latest Q3 2025 disclosures show the bank’s county-level entities collectively held RMB 1.46 trillion in deposits, up RMB 84.28 billion year-to-date, while loans reached RMB 927.02 billion, with a RMB 51.22 billion increase. Notably, loans to the real economy grew RMB 42.72 billion, and agricultural/SME lending rose RMB 34.97 billion, accounting for 81.86% of the real-economy loan increment.