How Rural Financial Services Can Firmly Occupy the High Ground

In recent years, the position of rural credit cooperatives as the main force of "supporting agriculture" in the rural market has been continuously consolidated. However, in the current period of national economic and industrial transformation and development, with the intensification of competition in the rural financial market and the upgrading of the industrial structure, rural credit cooperatives are also facing the important tasks of further improving quality and efficiency internally, accelerating the advancement of banking-oriented reform, continuing to deeply cultivate the "three rural" market externally without wavering, and making the agriculture-supporting cultural brand bigger and stronger. The rural credit cooperative of Junan County, Shandong Province, makes full use of the current policy and market environment, combines accelerating the transformation and upgrading of agriculture-related business with making the agriculture-supporting cultural brand bigger and stronger, and strives to firmly occupy the high ground of rural financial services. Its reform and development practice has positive reference significance in rural financial services.

First, combine accelerating the transformation of agriculture-related service methods with strengthening the functions of the agriculture-supporting cultural brand. As of the end of August 2014, the Junan County Rural Credit Cooperative Union had deposit balances of 13.57 billion yuan and loan balances of 7.52 billion yuan, of which agriculture-related loan business accounted for more than 70%, achieving steady growth for three consecutive years and fulfilling the banking regulatory authorities' requirement of "two no less than" for agriculture-related loans. In specific work, first, solidly advance the construction of the agriculture-supporting marketing network, expand the coverage of credit-rated loan certificate loans and credit alliance loans, thoroughly implement the "expand coverage and increase households" project, and consolidate the traditional rural financial market position. Over the past three years, the Junan County Rural Credit Cooperative Union has cumulatively rated 107,000 credit households of various types, issued 27,000 loan certificates, and cumulatively extended 15.7 billion yuan in agriculture-related loans. Second, focus on strengthening support for modern agricultural entities such as industrialized leading enterprises, family farms, and large planting and breeding households, make the flagship products of the agriculture-supporting brand well known, and in a targeted manner launch new credit businesses such as core enterprise guarantees in the industrial chain and 1+N guarantee packages, enhance the ability to serve emerging markets, and explore new rural financial service models. Over the past three years, it has cumulatively innovated, researched and developed, and newly launched 6 major categories and 18 varieties of new distinctive rural credit service models, cumulatively issuing 1.78 billion yuan in loans, achieving a "double harvest" of business transformation and development and the renewal and growth of the agriculture-supporting brand functions.

Second, combine accelerating the transformation of the structure of agriculture-related products with enriching the connotation of the agriculture-supporting cultural brand. First, accelerate the formation of farmer credit alliances, and with the help of products and methods such as agricultural industrial chain loans and agreement-based mortgages, increase the intensity of farmer loan marketing services. At present, this rural credit cooperative has taken the lead in establishing 134 farmer credit alliances, supporting more than 720 farmer households, and extending 156 million yuan in loan funds. Second, accelerate the pace of pilot innovation in rural "three rights" mortgage business, follow up on rural land system reform, and actively meet the effective and reasonable credit fund needs of agriculture-related and small and micro enterprises. Since the beginning of the year, this rural credit cooperative has accepted 34 rural "three rights" mortgage businesses, involving an amount of 52.26 million yuan. Third, accelerate innovation in product guarantee methods, adopt methods such as mortgages, core enterprise guarantees in the industrial chain, and guarantees by professional guarantee institutions according to local conditions, broaden risk mitigation measures, and reduce customer financing costs.

Third, combine accelerating the transformation of agriculture-related service channels with expanding the extension of the agriculture-supporting cultural brand. First, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of outlets, refine classification on the basis of existing outlets, optimize layout, and improve the standardized and professional service level of outlets. In recent years, the Junan County Rural Credit Cooperative Union has successively implemented renovation, decoration, or relocation of 23 of the 46 business outlets within its jurisdiction. After new construction or renovation, the business outlets are more reasonably zoned according to customer service needs, and facility provision is more humanized. Second, accelerate the pace of building rural community financial service demonstration points, and in markets and new communities with greater development potential, build community financial service points relying on financial service information officers, consolidating the market position of community retail banking. With the advancement of new urbanization, the trend of rural communitization and urbanization is obvious. Since last year, the Junan County Rural Credit Cooperative Union has persisted in steadily advancing the construction of community financial service points on the basis of fully conducting market research. At present, 3 community financial service points have been built, implementing the three-in-one operating model of "rural finance officer + farmer self-service terminal + automatic teller machine", and the operating situation is good. Third, accelerate the construction of mobile financial service platforms, and through mobile banking vehicles, provide on-site and immediate services in farmers' markets and centralized purchasing markets, further increasing the convenience and benefit to the people of services. The increase in agriculture-related service channels has unconsciously increased the extension of the rural credit cooperative's agriculture-supporting service brand, continuously absorbing new rural financial service objects into the scope of rural credit cooperative financial services.

Fourth, combine carrying out agriculture-related service publicity activities with making the rural credit cooperative's agriculture-supporting cultural brand well known. First, persist in carrying out the activity of sending financial knowledge to the countryside every year. During the activity, on the one hand, actively promote the financial service products of rural credit cooperatives, so that more ordinary people understand the market positioning, product advantages, and service characteristics of rural credit cooperatives; on the other hand, vigorously publicize inclusive financial knowledge such as anti-counterfeit currency, anti-money laundering, and staying away from illegal fundraising, enhancing rural customer groups' understanding of financial knowledge. According to statistics, in recent years the Junan County Rural Credit Cooperative Union has carried out 113 various kinds of financial services to the countryside, distributed 110,000 leaflets and 2,255 sets of books. While carrying out agriculture-related service publicity, it has further made the rural credit cooperative's agriculture-supporting cultural brand well known. Second, persist in carrying out bank-enterprise matchmaking and customer meetings, and through forms such as holding symposia and distributing opinion solicitation questionnaires, accelerate the growth of the credit cooperative's excellent agriculture-related service brand.

In short, in recent years, around how to combine the rural credit cooperative's own characteristics and advantages, and combine accelerating the transformation and upgrading of agriculture-related business with making the agriculture-supporting cultural brand bigger and stronger, the Junan County rural credit cooperative has persisted in promoting brand growth through business development and leveraging business development through brand growth, making supporting agriculture and enriching farmers an important part of corporate culture construction, successfully shaping a growth and development path with its own characteristics, and conducting beneficial exploration and attempts for the future reform of rural credit cooperatives.