Recently, Hong Kong-listed Bank of Guizhou (HK:06199) announced that, as the principal initiating bank of Longli Guofeng Village Bank, it intends to assume all deposit liabilities of Longli Guofeng Village Bank.
The announcement reveals that the deposit assumption agreement between the two parties will take effect after the confirmation agreement is signed on January 12, 2026. The total principal and interest of the target deposits amount to 1.913 billion yuan. After deducting the relevant rights and interests associated with the debt succession from the village bank, the consideration for the assumption is 1.849 billion yuan.
What has drawn significant market attention is that Bank of Guizhou's assumption of the deposits from Longli Guofeng Village Bank was not executed through a cash payment. Instead, it utilized a trust plan, completing the transaction by exchanging "creditor's rights" for "trust beneficiary shares." This method is relatively uncommon in village bank reforms.
On January 15, Bank of Guizhou responded to a reporter from National Business Daily, stating that this deposit assumption operation is a specific measure taken based on market-oriented and rule-of-law principles. It aims to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties, maintain the stability of the local financial order, and achieve high-quality development.
Market analysts pointed out that this model reflects an innovative path for risk resolution. The trust structure can achieve risk isolation, safeguarding the trust beneficiary rights of the deposit-assuming party and the rights of depositors. Simultaneously, it optimizes liquidity, facilitates the smooth exit of the institution, and helps maintain regional financial stability.
It is worth noting that besides the reform of Longli Guofeng Village Bank, Bank of Guizhou is also simultaneously advancing the integration of several other village banks under its umbrella. Not only did it complete the acquisition of Tongren Fengyuan Village Bank within 2025, but it also plans, subject to regulatory approval, to absorb and merge Panzhou Wanhe, Kaili Dongnan, and Baiyun Dexin village banks through cash acquisition of equity.
According to the signed deposit assumption agreement, commencing from the assumption date, the debts and associated rights formed under the target deposits of Longli Guofeng Village Bank will be assumed by Bank of Guizhou. As of the assumption date, the total principal and interest of the target deposits amount to 1.913 billion yuan. After deducting the relevant rights and interests associated with the debt succession from Longli Guofeng Village Bank, the consideration for this assumption is 1.849 billion yuan.
Following the announcement by Bank of Guizhou, it attracted widespread external attention due to the relatively rare transaction method used for this deposit transfer.
The payment terms indicate that in this deposit transfer, Longli Guofeng Village Bank entrusted its asset收益权 to establish a trust plan. Bank of Guizhou, using the creditor's rights formed from assuming the deposits, received corresponding trust plan beneficiary shares to pay the consideration for assuming the deposits.
This also means that the transacting parties did not utilize cash. Instead, they used the "creditor's rights" formed when Bank of Guizhou assumed the deposits to swap for the "trust beneficiary shares" established by Longli Guofeng Village Bank using asset收益权 that can generate future cash flow.
It was noted that on December 10, 2025, Bank of Guizhou held a shareholders' meeting which reviewed and approved the proposal for the reform plan of Longli Guofeng Village Bank. The proposal content included assuming the deposits of Longli Guofeng Village Bank, receiving the beneficiary right shares of the trust plan initiated by Longli Guofeng Village Bank, acting as trustee to manage the underlying assets of the Longli Guofeng Village Bank trust plan, establishing a new trust asset management system to manage the credit assets of Longli Guofeng Village Bank, setting up a new branch at the original location of Longli Guofeng Village Bank to continue outlet services, and properly arranging for its employees, among other items.
According to disclosures by Bank of Guizhou, Longli Guofeng Village Bank was established in December 2008 with a registered capital of 112 million yuan. Bank of Guizhou holds a 25.36% stake in it. Additionally, five corporate shareholders collectively hold 44.64%, and fifteen individual shareholders collectively hold 30%.
On December 30, 2025, the National Financial Regulatory Administration's Guizhou Bureau issued an approval, agreeing to the dissolution of Longli Guofeng Village Bank and consenting to the opening of the Bank of Guizhou Longli Guofeng sub-branch. Approval information shows that the business premises of this sub-branch are consistent with the original address of Longli Guofeng Village Bank.
Over the past year, village bank reform has accelerated nationwide, with over 200 village banks completing market exits within the year. Among these, being absorbed and merged by the principal initiating bank or transformed into branches of the principal initiating bank has become the mainstream choice for the structural reorganization of village banks.
So, what considerations primarily led Bank of Guizhou to take a different path this time, utilizing a trust plan and the method of "exchanging creditor's rights for trust beneficiary shares" to assume the village bank's deposits?
Bank of Guizhou stated in its announcement that its assumption of the target deposits and acceptance of trust beneficiary settlement will facilitate the completion of Longli Guofeng Village Bank's reform plan, fully safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of depositors, creditors, employees, and other relevant parties. The bank also emphasized that the transaction terms are fair and reasonable, aligning with the overall interests of Bank of Guizhou and its shareholders.
On January 15, Bank of Guizhou further responded to the aforementioned questions from a National Business Daily reporter, stating: "As the principal initiating bank of Longli Guofeng Village Bank, our bank has always adhered to an attitude of responsibility towards depositors and regional financial stability, steadily advancing relevant work. This deposit assumption operation is a specific measure taken based on market-oriented and rule-of-law principles, aiming to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of all relevant parties, maintain the stability of the local financial order, and achieve high-quality development."
Public information indicates that Bank of Guizhou has already commenced the work of assuming the deposits of Longli Guofeng Village Bank.
Recently, Bank of Guizhou issued announcements to the public through multiple channels, stating that starting January 9, 2026, all deposits of Longli Guofeng Village Bank will be assumed by the bank, which will fulfill the repayment obligations to protect depositors' legitimate rights and interests. Starting January 12, 2026, Bank of Guizhou will provide online channel services. Former customers of Longli Guofeng Village Bank need to re-sign agreements with Bank of Guizhou for services like mobile banking and online banking.
Regarding loan business, according to an announcement from Longli Guofeng Village Bank, starting January 9, 2026, its existing loans will be entrusted to Bank of Guizhou for subsequent management.
Market analysts pointed out that Bank of Guizhou's approach of exchanging "creditor's rights" for "trust beneficiary shares" this time reflects an innovative path for risk resolution.
In the view of Tang Chunlin, a senior lawyer in the financial trust field, the introduction of the trust structure in this transaction can play a role in several aspects.
"The trust mechanism pools the originally dispersed deposit principal and interest assets, packaging them into a unified asset pool for external transfer, facilitating subsequent交割," Tang Chunlin told the National Business Daily reporter. Without using a trust, transferring the principal and interest of these deposits would require checking and transferring item by item, resulting in cumbersome operations and massive workload. Direct对接 between the transacting parties could also easily lead to disputes over areas like asset authenticity verification, lacking public credibility.
He also pointed out that during the trust establishment process, the trust company conducts reviews of the underlying assets' authenticity and legality, effectively providing professional endorsement for the asset pool. Simultaneously, the trust structure can also safeguard fund security and prevent misappropriation risks. "Receiving payments through the trust channel, with the trust company directly making payments to the relevant customers,可以实现专款专用, enhancing the security of the transaction."
Shui Guorang, a researcher at YONGYI Trust, when interviewed by National Business Daily, also analyzed the potential roles of introducing the trust structure in this transaction from multiple angles.
"First, it achieves risk isolation and restructuring," Shui Guorang pointed out. Trust assets are independent of the village bank's own assets, able to isolate risks such as debt disputes or asset freezes that might occur during its dissolution and liquidation process, thereby safeguarding the trust beneficiary rights of the assuming party, Bank of Guizhou.
In his view, this arrangement also optimizes liquidity. For the village bank, there is no need for immediate cash payment; instead, future asset收益, such as loan interest and asset disposal proceeds, are used to pay the consideration for the deposit assumption. This avoids pressure from concentrated repayments and alleviates liquidity紧张 during the liquidation period. For Bank of Guizhou, it does not directly tie up large amounts of funds, helping to reduce short-term liquidity pressure and capital consumption.
He further analyzed that regarding payment of consideration and settlement, adopting the model of "creditor's rights swapped for beneficiary shares" to complete the payment for the deposit assumption replaces traditional cash transactions. It achieves debt settlement legally and compliantly, safeguarding depositors' rights while orderly advancing the village bank's reform and dissolution process.
Shui Guorang also emphasized that this model aligns with current regulatory and policy directions. "Against the backdrop of village bank reform and risk disposal, this not only complies with the regulatory encouragement to resolve risks through market-oriented and rule-of-law methods but also, under the premise of ensuring deposit safety, achieves the smooth exit of the institution through structured arrangements, contributing to the maintenance of regional financial stability."
Public information shows that Bank of Guizhou was established on October 11, 2012, as a local legal person financial institution formed through the merger and reorganization of Zunyi City Commercial Bank, Anshun City Commercial Bank, and Liupanshui City Commercial Bank. Headquartered in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 30, 2019.
As the only provincial-level legal person bank in Guizhou Province, Bank of Guizhou holds an important position in the local financial system, with its deposit and loan market shares ranking among the top in Guizhou Province. Financial report data shows that in the first three quarters of 2025, the bank achieved operating revenue of 8.746 billion yuan and a net profit of 3.105 billion yuan. As of the end of September 2025, its asset scale reached 615.629 billion yuan, with total liabilities of 562.966 billion yuan.
Periodic reports show that as of the end of 2024, Bank of Guizhou held shares in 13 village banks, with shareholding ratios ranging from 15% to 45.24%. These village banks are distributed in Guiyang City, Zunyi City, Liupanshui City, Anshun City, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, and other areas.
Against the backdrop of continuously deepening village bank reform, since last year, Bank of Guizhou has also promoted the integration of institutions under its umbrella through models like "converting village banks to branches." In 2025, the bank completed the acquisition of Tongren Fengyuan Village Bank, assumed all its assets, liabilities, rights, and obligations, and on this basis, established four sub-branches.
On December 10, 2025, Bank of Guizhou held a shareholders' meeting. In addition to reviewing and approving the reform plan for Longli Guofeng Village Bank, it also reviewed and approved proposals to acquire Panzhou Wanhe, Kaili Dongnan, and Baiyun Dexin village banks and correspondingly establish sub-branches.
According to disclosed information, Panzhou Wanhe Village Bank was established in 2012 with a registered capital of 130 million yuan. It has 5 business institutions in Panzhou City with 78 employees. Bank of Guizhou holds a 20% stake in this bank. Kaili Dongnan Village Bank was established in 2013 with a registered capital of 504 million yuan. It has 2 business institutions in Kaili City with 67 employees. Bank of Guizhou holds a 20% stake. Baiyun Dexin Village Bank was established in 2012 with a registered capital of 283 million yuan. It has 2 business institutions in Baiyun District, Guiyang City, with 52 employees. Bank of Guizhou holds a 15% stake.
Bank of Guizhou stated that it plans to complete the acquisition of these three village banks through absorption and merger, and will formally implement this after obtaining regulatory approval.
Proposal information shows that for the acquisition of the aforementioned three village banks, Bank of Guizhou intends to acquire the shares of the relevant village banks held by other shareholders in cash. The acquisition price will be determined based on the appraisal results issued by asset appraisal institutions. After the acquisition is completed, the bank will assume the assets, liabilities, businesses, and related rights and obligations of the three village banks in a manner compliant with relevant laws and regulations. The three village banks will be dissolved and their legal person status will be注销.
