In the first half year of 2016, ICBC has endeavored to support the beautiful countryside construction through innovation of financial services and improve services to the agriculture, farmers and countryside based on national policies on rural development. As at the end of June 2016, the Bank posted an agro-related loan balance of approximately RMB 2 trillion, up by 17% over a three-year period.

According to an official with ICBC, the Bank has promulgated and implemented the policies on credit granting to a variety of agro-related sectors including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, agricultural machinery, new countryside construction and sideline products processing, as well as credit policies tailored to some key agricultural regions such as Northeast China and Xinjiang. The Bank also released a slew of inclusive financial services in e-banking, bank card, deposit, wealth management and migrant workers’ payroll management that meet demands of country and rural areas.

In innovating methods of financial service, ICBC has taken a series of measures. Firstly, the Bank has fully meet the financial service demands of leading enterprises through comprehensive financial solutions such as financing, cash management, bond underwriting, financial advisory, bank-enterprise link, e-banking, bank card, international settlement and exchange settlement/sales. Secondly, by focusing on leading companies, the Bank provides factoring, financing with account payables and other agricultural supply chain financing services to small upstream & downstream  companies of leading companies through financing such as "bank + leading companies+ cooperative (or large-scale planters)". Thirdly, ICBC has introduced innovative loan guarantee methods such as pledge by warehouse receipts and forestry right mortgage to address the issue that some asset-light enterprises lack effective collateral, which helps agricultural enterprises remove financing bottleneck and access loans at a lower cost..

In creating characteristic financial service, by leveraging the strength of strong information technology and expertise in finance, ICBC has promoted the new "Internet + commerce + finance" business model via its e-commerce platfor, ICBC Mall. It provides online financing for online agricultural material producers and agricultural product traders by using exclusive financial products such as big data-based POS loan and Corporate Purchasing Card, while recommending quality small agricultural producers to sell local, specialty products online. In Guizhou Province, ICBC has helped local products out of the mountainous areas and spread the excellent local brands across China. So far, more than 20 companies of agricultural and sideline products have initiated online trading.

In improving channels of financial service, ICBC has devised various measures for the benefit of farmers in view of local conditions and enabled the vast rural areas and large number of farmers to access financial services. In Jiangsu Province, the Bank has boosted the development of Financial Village templates with village specific approaches and established "Money Withdrawing Points", "Mobile Financial Service Stations" and "Door-to-Door Service Teams" to bring premier financial products and services to the countryside. 

In supporting new rural development, ICBC has developed exclusive policy for rural infrastructure construction projects such as renovation of small-town and village environment, land amelioration and relocation for poverty alleviation, and endeavored to improve production and living environment in rural areas. As at the end of June 2016, the balance of loans earmarked for the construction of new countryside and small towns exceeded RMB 60 billion.