HSBC Holdings has started offering unsecured small loans to mainland farmers at its village banks as it seeks to broaden its rural income.
Hubei Suizhou Cengdu HSBC Rural Bank, HSBC's first rural lender in China, had been running the business for three months on a pilot basis, aiming to tap the increasing financing needs of farmers and small businesses in the country, the banking giant announced yesterday.
'As the first international bank to enter the country's rural market, HSBC is leveraging its international experience and partnerships to tailor suitable products and services for rural communities in China,' said Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, the chairman of HSBC's Asian arm.
The scheme is also operating at HSBC's rural unit in Chongqing.
HSBC said it planned to launch the unsecured small loans at all its mainland rural units.
Demand for banking loans in rural areas has soared in recent years as Beijing seeks to underpin their economic development.
HSBC opened its first rural bank in Hubei in December 2007 and now owns five rural lenders on the mainland, making it the biggest foreign player in the sector.
