Over the past two months, Minsheng Bank Chairman Gao Yingxin has been conducting research and inspections in various locations.
In May, Gao visited Hua County in Henan to examine targeted assistance work and later went to Fengqiu County to research rural revitalization efforts.
In June, he traveled to the China Educational Supplies Procurement Base in Linyi, Shandong, visiting premium merchants and engaging in detailed discussions with market management and merchant representatives.
Now 64 years old, Gao Yingxin has been at the helm of Minsheng Bank for six years and remains highly driven.
He places significant emphasis on the development of small and micro enterprise clusters and distinctive industries in county and rural areas, aiming to strengthen Minsheng Bank's capabilities in small and micro finance and solidify its rural revitalization financing services.
Concurrently, Gao is accelerating the pace of Minsheng Bank's integration of village and township banks.
As of July, changes have occurred at two of the bank's village and township banks.
Firstly, regulators approved Minsheng Bank's acquisition of Ziyang Minsheng Village Bank, with plans to establish Minsheng Bank branches in Ziyang, Jianyang, Anyue, Lezhi, Anyue Longtai, Chengdu Eastern New Area Sancha, and Chengdu Eastern New Area Yangma.
Secondly, regulators agreed to dissolve Anxi Minsheng Village Bank, with Minsheng Bank assuming all its assets, liabilities, business operations, branches, employees, and other rights and obligations.
Simultaneously, Minsheng Bank's Quanzhou Anxi Longqiao Small and Micro Enterprise Sub-branch and Quanzhou Anxi Fengcheng Sub-branch have received approval to commence operations.
The pace of Minsheng Bank's acquisitions of village and township banks has not slowed.
According to incomplete statistics, since 2026, Minsheng Bank has acquired at least nine village and township banks, including Linzhi Minsheng Village Bank, Ningjin Minsheng Village Bank, and Tiantai Minsheng Village Bank, with restructuring models including conversion to sub-branches or branches.
Rationale for the Integration
Integrating these banks is, on one hand, an inevitable step in the industry-wide transformation trend guided by regulatory direction, and on the other hand, a necessary choice for Minsheng Bank itself to streamline its county-level branch network, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and control risks.
Minsheng Village Banks is the collective term for the various village and township banks established with Minsheng Bank as the primary sponsor.
The number of Minsheng Village Banks ranks among the highest for joint-stock commercial banks.
By the end of 2025, the bank had established 29 village and township banks with 77 business outlets, a reduction of four outlets from the 81 recorded the previous year.
For Minsheng Bank, the village and township banks have reached a stage where integration is imperative.
On one hand, the scale of Minsheng Village Banks has begun to shrink.
As of the end of 2025, the total assets of Minsheng Village Banks were 40.823 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.505 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, while the balance of various loans was 23.835 billion yuan, down 1.854 billion yuan year-on-year.
In contrast, in 2024, the total assets of Minsheng Village Banks still experienced a slight increase, rising by 49 million yuan from the end of the preceding year.
On the other hand, Minsheng Bank has made impairment provisions for its village and township bank investments for two consecutive years.
In 2024 and 2025, the bank recorded impairment provisions for long-term equity investments in village and township banks of 184 million yuan and 188 million yuan, respectively.
Following the merger of these banks, Minsheng Bank will face certain capital costs in the short term and must also absorb and address existing non-performing assets.
Compounded by the pressure to repair the overall asset quality of Minsheng Bank, the difficulty for Gao Yingxin in balancing operations has increased further.
As of the end of 2025, the bank's total non-performing loans stood at 66.154 billion yuan, an increase of 544 million yuan from the end of the previous year, with a non-performing loan ratio of 1.49%, up 0.02 percentage points year-on-year.
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