The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to promoting the development of inclusive finance in China. In 2015, my country issued the first national-level strategic plan for inclusive finance, the Plan for Promoting the Development of Inclusive Finance (2016-2020). Over the past few years, the People’s Bank of China and relevant departments have continuously improved the supply of inclusive financial services, focused on improving the efficiency of inclusive financial resource allocation, and improved the quality and efficiency of inclusive financial products, basically forming inclusive financial services and guarantees that are compatible with building a well-off society in all respects The system also tells the Chinese story of the development of inclusive finance to the world.
“One cannot be missing” on the road to common prosperity
Rural areas, especially poverty-stricken areas, are the main battlefields for inclusive financial services. The People’s Bank of China, together with relevant departments, has further promoted the development of inclusive finance in poverty-stricken areas, actively increased financial supply in rural areas, and continued to expand the “cake” in rural areas, helping to drive more poor people to share the benefits of industrial development. For example, Xiangxi Prefecture is a key area for poverty alleviation in Hunan Province. General Secretary Xi Jinping first proposed the requirement of “targeted poverty alleviation” in Shibadong Village. The People’s Bank of China organized the principals of provincial banks to go to Xiangxi for many times to conduct government-bank-enterprise negotiations, actively meet project financing needs, and establish a tracking and supervision mechanism. Since 2016, the average annual growth rate of various loans in Xiangxi Prefecture has ranked first in the province for many years. Shibadong Village took the lead in taking off the poverty village status in the province. The per capita income increased from 1,668 yuan in 2013 to 18,369 yuan in 2020. . For another example, in Datong City, Shanxi Province, the People’s Bank of China promoted financial institutions to innovate financial service methods aiming at the advantages of characteristic industries. Yunzhou District has created a “Yellow Flower Finance” model, which helps farmers increase their income by launching yellow flower credit products, innovating yellow flower planting and price insurance, and supporting industrial upgrading, and vigorously promotes the development of the yellow flower industry. The per capita income increased by 4,000 yuan, and nearly 40,000 poor households were lifted out of poverty.
Inclusive financial reform “crossing the river by feeling the stones”
The situation varies greatly from place to place, and it has been proved by practice that it is a good way to explore the development path of inclusive finance through pilot reform. Over the past few years, the People’s Bank of China, together with relevant local governments and departments, has successively built inclusive financial reform pilot zones in 6 provinces and 7 regions, focusing on the three major themes of “inclusive benefits”, “agriculture, rural areas” and “poverty alleviation” to form reform and innovation models with regional characteristics. . Based on local realities, each pilot zone has identified its positioning, and is building a diversified inclusive financial organizational system, using financial technology to develop digital inclusive finance, innovating the supply of inclusive financial products and services, improving financial infrastructure such as payment and credit reporting, Improve the government financing guarantee and fiscal and tax policy support system, strengthen risk prevention and other aspects of the pilot, and achieved positive results. For example, Lankao County, Henan Province, based on the actual situation of the counties in the underdeveloped areas in the central and western regions, focuses on solving the problems of county economy and “agriculture, rural areas, farmers, and migrant workers”, and has formed a comprehensive service platform for digital inclusive finance as the core, with financial service system, The experience of inclusive finance in Lankao with “one platform and four systems” as the basic content of inclusive credit system, credit information system and risk prevention and control system has promoted the economic and social development benefits of Lankao to be significantly improved, the appearance of rural areas within the jurisdiction has been significantly improved, and agricultural development has gradually changed from The transformation from “small, scattered and weak” to “specialized and deep”, the vitality of social entrepreneurship continues to burst, and residents’ income has increased significantly.
Get through the “last mile” of financial services
People’s livelihood services are the top priority of inclusive finance. The People’s Bank of China has identified the key points of work, improved financial infrastructure, focused on serving special groups, and made financial services more secure and convenient to reach thousands of households and people through online and offline channels, opening up the “last mile” of financial services. . As of the end of 2020, the coverage rate of national bank outlets in towns and villages reached 97.13%, and the coverage rate of payment services in village-level administrative areas reached 99.31%. For the elderly, the People’s Bank of China instructs financial institutions to optimize and improve financial services for the elderly in an all-round way, so as to achieve both traditional services and intelligent services, make every effort to bridge the “digital divide” problem encountered by the elderly, and improve the safety of the elderly in accessing financial services. Continue to innovate and enrich financial products and services in financial management and insurance for the elderly, and vigorously support the development of the “silver economy”, providing financial solutions for the elderly to enjoy a happy life. In addition, the People’s Bank of China also instructs financial institutions to strengthen financial services for the disabled, providing exclusive online solutions for the visually impaired, and equipping disabled facilities offline, constantly enhancing the disabled’s sense of financial gain.
Financial consumer rights protection “accompany me”
The People’s Bank of China continues to deepen the protection mechanism for the rights and interests of financial consumers, promulgated the “Implementation Measures of the People’s Bank of China for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Financial Consumers”, adheres to and carries forward the “Fengqiao Experience” in the new era, and unblocks the channels for financial consumers to express their demands, coordinate their interests, and protect their rights and interests. Build a diversified financial consumer dispute resolution mechanism, protect the property created by the people through hard work, and safeguard the long-term and fundamental interests of financial consumers. Organized and carried out financial knowledge popularization activities such as “Financial Consumer Rights Day” and “Popularize Financial Knowledge and Keep Money Bags” to continuously improve consumers’ financial literacy. Promote the incorporation of financial core concepts into national curriculum standards, and form a long-term mechanism for financial literacy education in primary and secondary schools. Implement the consumer financial literacy questionnaire system, promote the construction of financial education bases in an orderly manner, strengthen normalized financial education and risk warnings, and build a healthy and sustainable financial culture ecology. The People’s Bank of China Consumer Financial Literacy Questionnaire shows that my country’s consumer financial literacy has steadily improved in recent years. The financial literacy index in 2021 will be 66.81, an increase of 2.04 and 3.10 compared with 2019 and 2017, respectively.
In the next step, the People’s Bank of China will continue to adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, expand the coverage of inclusive finance, improve a modern financial system that is highly adaptable, competitive, and inclusive, and vigorously promote the high-quality development of inclusive finance.