Under the penalty order, the listing is temporarily halted: How did Shunde Rural Commercial Bank turn the tide during the "pressure period"?

Produced by | Zhongfang Network

Reviewed by | Li Xiaoyan

Recently, the Guangdong Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Supervision and Administration disclosed administrative penalty information. Shunde Rural Commercial Bank was fined 5.45 million yuan by the Foshan Financial Regulatory Sub-bureau for imprudent loan management, and Risk Director Chen Weiheng was simultaneously warned and fined 50,000 yuan, along with six other responsible individuals being warned. At the same time, the bank’s Yingde branch was fined 300,000 yuan for inaccurate loan risk classification. This regulatory penalty is not only a precise correction of the institution’s credit management loopholes but also an important opportunity for the bank to deepen reforms based on compliance.

As the largest county-level legal financial institution in the country, the development of Shunde Rural Commercial Bank has always resonated with the local economy. Its predecessor was the Shunde Rural Credit Cooperative established in 1952, which successfully restructured into a rural commercial bank in 2009, becoming one of the first three rural commercial banks to succeed in restructuring in Guangdong Province. In 2012, it was officially renamed Guangdong Shunde Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. After over seventy years of progress, the bank has grown into one of the local banks in Guangdong with the most comprehensive professional qualifications and has a high reputation and influence among small and medium-sized banks nationwide.

Rooted in Shunde for over seventy years, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank has always adhered to the market positioning of “serving the local area, serving agriculture, and serving small and micro enterprises,” building a service network covering urban and rural areas and extending beyond the province. Currently, the bank has more than 250 branches in Shunde and has established directly affiliated branches in several locations, including Nansha in Guangzhou, Hengqin in Zhuhai, Changping in Dongguan, and Nanhai in Foshan. It has over 4,700 employees across two village and township banks in Fengcheng and Zhangshu, becoming a major force in financial services in the region.

As of the end of 2024, the bank’s total assets reached 471.991 billion yuan, an increase of 10.158 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, with a growth rate of 2.20%; the balance of various deposits was 319.205 billion yuan, an increase of 4.187 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, with a growth rate of 1.33%; the balance of various loans was 252.240 billion yuan, an increase of 10.368 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, with a growth rate of 4.29%. Core operating indicators are running steadily, and major regulatory indicators meet regulatory requirements, placing the bank at an upper-middle level within the provincial rural credit system.

As a core representative of Shunde’s local financial strength, the top ten shareholders of the bank include leading local enterprises such as Midea Group, Vanward Group, and Boyi Construction. There are no controlling shareholders or actual controllers, and the equity structure is relatively dispersed, with a continuously improving governance system. Relying on local resource advantages, the bank deeply participates in industrial upgrading, rural revitalization, and urban construction in Shunde, providing precise financial services to manufacturing, small and micro enterprises, and urban and rural residents, becoming an important financial support for the high-quality development of the local economy.

This regulatory penalty directly points to issues such as imprudent loan management and inaccurate risk classification at Shunde Rural Commercial Bank, revealing shortcomings in the bank’s full-process credit management. From historical data, the non-performing loan ratio of the bank rose from 0.94% at the end of 2020 to 1.61% at the end of 2024, climbing for four consecutive years; the balance of non-performing loans increased from 1.743 billion yuan to 4.143 billion yuan, growing 1.37 times over four years. The continuous pressure on asset quality, coupled with the operational pressures on clients arising from changes in the macroeconomic environment, has become a core issue that the bank must address in its development process.

In the face of challenges, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank adheres to the operational philosophy of “compliance first, risk-based,” taking this penalty as an opportunity to comprehensively launch the optimization and upgrading of its credit management system. On one hand, it strictly implements regulatory requirements, conducts a comprehensive self-examination and rectification of violations, perfects the full-process system of pre-loan investigation, in-loan review, and post-loan management, and strengthens risk identification and early warning capabilities to close management loopholes; on the other hand, it deepens accountability mechanisms, strictly enforces the “double penalty system,” punishing the institution while also accurately holding relevant management personnel accountable to enforce risk control responsibilities.

Risk Director Chen Weiheng has rich experience in managing branches and departments at the headquarters. He has served as deputy president of Xingtan Branch and Longjiang Branch, acting president of Chen Village Branch and Lunjiao Branch, and general manager of the Credit Management Department and president of the Financial Market. His simultaneous accountability this time demonstrates the bank’s firm determination to strengthen risk control and improve the governance system. In the future, the bank will further strengthen its risk control team, enhance professional capabilities, and build a tighter risk prevention and control network, effectively maintaining the bottom line of not allowing systemic risks to occur.

Despite facing asset quality pressures and short-term performance fluctuations, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank’s overall operations still display considerable resilience. By the end of the first half of 2025, the bank’s total assets reached 485.655 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.52%, with asset scale steadily expanding. In the first half of 2025, the bank achieved operating income of 3.622 billion yuan and net profit of 1.296 billion yuan, although this represented year-on-year declines of 5.97% and 17.93% respectively, the core business foundation remains solid against a backdrop of macroeconomic pressure and intensified industry competition.

From an industry perspective, the bank focuses on Shunde’s local advantageous industries, deeply cultivating sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale retail, and livelihood services, with a solid customer base and a leading position in the local market share. Relying on the advantages of regional industrial clusters, the bank has innovatively launched financial products tailored to local enterprise needs, optimizing service processes to effectively meet the financing needs of small and micro enterprises, which are often “short, small, frequent, and urgent,” thus supporting the growth of local businesses. At the same time, the bank actively expands inclusive financial services, increases support for the “three rural” areas, and promotes the flow of financial resources to grassroots levels, achieving a synergy between economic benefits and social benefits.

In terms of brand building and industry recognition, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank has achieved remarkable results. In 2024, the bank won the Golden Bull Award for Bank Wealth Management Sales from China Securities Journal, the Tianji Award for Inclusive Financial Services from Securities Times, and was recognized as a gold medal case in the “Hundred Million Thousand Project” by Xinhua News Agency. In the 2024 ranking of the world’s top 1,000 banks by The Banker magazine in the UK, the bank ranked 313th; in the “Top 100 Chinese Banking Institutions” list released by the China Banking Association, it ranked 55th and 10th among rural commercial banks nationwide. These honors fully demonstrate the high recognition of the market and industry regarding the bank’s comprehensive strength and service capability.

In July 2025, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank and its sponsor withdrew their IPO application, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange terminated the review of its A-share main board listing. This marks a pause in the listing journey that began in July 2017 and lasted over eight years. Regarding the postponement of this IPO, the bank clearly responded that it was based on the need to optimize strategic planning and was a decision made after careful evaluation. In the future, it will restart the IPO at an opportune time based on its own development status, market conditions, and regulatory policies.

From an industry environment perspective, in recent years, the overall pace of listing among small and medium-sized banks has slowed, and several banks have withdrawn their IPO applications due to strategic adjustments and changes in the market environment. Shunde Rural Commercial Bank’s proactive postponement of its listing is not a sign of retreat but a rational examination of its development stage and an active choice to optimize its capital replenishment path. On one hand, the bank’s current asset scale exceeds 480 billion yuan, and core indicators such as capital adequacy ratio meet regulatory requirements, with no urgent need to quickly replenish capital through the capital market; on the other hand, focusing on deep cultivation of the local market, strengthening risk management, and improving operational quality and efficiency is more aligned with the core needs of its current development stage than merely pursuing a listing.

This IPO adjustment demonstrates Shunde Rural Commercial Bank’s strategic resolve of “not solely pursuing a listing, but seeking practical effectiveness.” In the future, the bank will continue to focus on its main business, deepen internal reforms, optimize its governance structure, and enhance profitability and risk resistance. When the time is right, the bank will restart its listing process with a more stable operating condition, a more complete governance system, and a clearer development plan, injecting quality financial assets into the capital market while broadening capital channels for its own development.

Through over seventy years of journey through wind and rain, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank has transformed from an initial rural credit cooperative into a benchmark institution in the county financial field nationwide, with every step of its development relying on deep cultivation of the local market, adherence to compliant operations, and pursuit of reform and innovation. Currently, facing a complex and changing market environment and urgent demands for industry transformation, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank is taking this regulatory penalty as an opportunity to embark on a new journey of comprehensive deepening of reforms.

In the future, the bank will focus on promoting three strategic transformations: first, deepening the reform of the risk control system, building a full-process, intelligent risk management system, enhancing asset quality control capabilities, and laying a solid foundation for development; second, strengthening deep cultivation of the local market, relying on Shunde’s industrial advantages, innovating financial products and service models, supporting local industrial upgrading and the development of small and micro enterprises, and consolidating core competitiveness; third, advancing digital transformation, increasing investment in financial technology, optimizing online and offline service channels, enhancing service efficiency and customer experience, and building a modern commercial bank that is digital and intelligent.

At the same time, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank will actively fulfill its social responsibilities, deeply participate in national strategies such as rural revitalization and common prosperity, increase support for inclusive finance and green finance, and promote the flow of financial resources to the livelihood sector and weak links, interpreting the corporate mission of “local bank, responsible engagement” through concrete actions. Leveraging the strategic opportunities of the Greater Bay Area construction, the bank will further expand its service boundaries, strengthen regional cooperation, enhance cross-regional service capabilities, and strive to build a “first-class bank with a century-long foundation,” contributing greater strength to the high-quality development of the local economy.

From history to the future, from transformation to rebirth. Shunde Rural Commercial Bank is firmly walking the path of stable development and high-quality transformation, based on over seventy years of accumulation, taking compliance rectification as an opportunity, and driving reform and innovation as motivation. We have reason to believe that with a profound understanding of the local market, a steadfast commitment to risk control, and a persistent pursuit of reform and innovation, Shunde Rural Commercial Bank will undoubtedly solve the current development challenges and reshape its core competitiveness.