Riding the Wind and Cleaving the Waves, Industrial Bank Embarks on a New Journey

Industrial Bank faithfully implements its “people-centered” philosophy of development and its client-centric approach to business operations, works to follow the principle of “treating both the symptoms and the root cause, with a commitment to beginning with the symptoms and working backwards to tackle the root cause”, continues to strengthen the organization and coordination of consumer financial protection, advances the development of the system and mechanism of consumer financial protection, and promotes the whole-process regulations on consumer financial protection. The Bank implements refined management of complaints, sees that relevant departments shoulder the primary responsibility for consumer financial protection, and explores new ways for promoting financial literacy. It has taken a combination of measures for the continuous optimization of the quality of products and services, as well as the enhancement of the quality and efficiency of consumer financial protection, so as to provide financial services of high quality and accessibility for financial consumers and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

1.The Bank Promotes the Performance of Senior Management and Continues to Improve Institutions and Mechanisms for consumer financial protection

The Bank has integrated the requirements of consumer financial protection into its business development strategy and corporate culture. The Bank puts great emphasis on consumer financial protection, continues to improve the top-level design of consumer financial protection, and elevates its strategic position by fully incorporating it into the Bank’s business development strategy framework while setting clear goals and tasks and taking specific measures. Meanwhile, the Bank considered consumer financial protection as an important aspect of ESG management and is involved in every sector of its operation and management. 

The fulfillment of due diligence of the Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors. With continued optimization of organization structure and responsibilities concerning the Board of Directors, the Board of Supervisors, and the Top Management Team (TMT), the Bank incorporates consumer financial protection into the evaluation of corporate governance, giving play to the two boards' responsibilities in the decision and supervision of consumer financial protection. An effective restraint mechanism has been established based on quantified evaluation. First, the Bank promotes corporate governance with the boards' development of a package of systems enhancing consumer financial protection. For the Board of Directors, as explicitly laid down by the Bank in the amended articles of association taking effect with regulatory approval, the Board of Directors shall bear the ultimate responsibility for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and it shall guide, supervise, and evaluate work related to consumer financial protection. The Risk Management and Consumer Financial Protection Committee under the Board of Directors is authorized to discuss and make decisions on relevant affairs, analyze major issues concerning consumer financial protection, guide and urge the establishment and improvement of the institutional system of consumer financial protection management, and conduct periodic reviews and examinations of reports concerning consumer financial protection. The committee also assists, supervises, and evaluates consumer financial protection, urges the rectification of relevant issues, and offers advice to the Board of Directors. For the Board of Supervisors, it is stipulated in the articles of association by the Bank that the Board of Supervisors is responsible for the inspection and supervision of the performance of risk management and consumer financial protection, and assumes the supervisory responsibility for overall risk management and that it should supervise and inspect the fulfillment of due diligence of the Board of Directors and that of the TMT in terms of risk management, and urge rectifications where needed. Second, the Bank has improved the quality and efficiency of the Board of directors and its subsidiary commission in fulfilling their duty of consumer financial protection, broadened their scope of agenda in consumer financial protection working sessions, and promoted the discussion and analysis of meeting subjects, so as to offer suggestions for improvement. At the same time, suggestion letters will be sent to see to it that the relevant department carries out the suggestion from the Board of Directors and its Commission. Industrial Bank also enhances the level of its meticulous management for consumer financial protection through measures such as the deep analysis of exemplary cases of consumer financial protection. Third, the Bank strengthens the supervision of the Board of Supervisors on consumer financial protection and extends the breadth of supervision of the Board of Supervisors and its commission. At the same time, the Board of Supervisors also strengthens its supervision of the fulfillment of due diligence of the Board of Directors and TMT.

The fulfillment of consumer financial protection of the TMT. First, the Bank requires all institutions to organically integrate consumer financial protection into all procedures of its systems, institutional systems, and management, and give full play to a series of consumer rules and regulations, including Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for Consumer Financial Protection, Detailed Rules of Industrial Bank for the Implementation of the Measures for the Administration of Consumer Complaints, Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for the Protection of Personal Information, Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for the Audit of Consumer Financial Protection. Second, the senior management has enhanced the guidance for consumer financial protection. The Bank has established a leadship team for consumer financial protection with the Bank's Party Committee member as its leader. In 2022, 28 departments of the Head Office joined the team. All businesses related to consumer financial protection are covered, pushing forward the implementation of the Bank's work concerning consumer financial protection. The Bank's leaders finalized the work plan for consumer financial protection, organized multiple working sessions concerning consumer financial protection, and provided a number of instructions on the plans for consumer financial protection and reports. They also organized the thematic meeting on consumer financial protection for the whole Bank for research and deployment.

2.Rooting out Risks by Strengthening the Review of Products and Services

The Bank has strengthened a bank-wide evaluation of the quality and professionalism of consumer financial protection, with a focus on the number of reviews and the strict implementation of the principle of "Reviewing all that Needs to be Reviewed". In the first half of 2023, a total of 6,380 consumer financial protection reviews were conducted, growing by 51% year-on-year, covering all procedures such as the development, design, pricing management, and agreements of products and services. Meanwhile, the Bank accelerates the development of the system for consumer financial protection review, empowering the digitalization of consumer financial protection. In addition, the Bank has included a consumer financial protection review into its risk management and internal control system. As is clearly stated in the Measures of Industrial Bank for Reporting Comprehensive Risk Management (Revised in August 2022), ESG risks are included in the system of comprehensive risk management reports. The Bank has rooted out the risks against consumer financial protection by placing consumer financial protection as a part of risk precaution and enhanced the role of the Board of Supervisors in supervising the Bank's comprehensive risk management.

Industrial Bank's business units have continuously improved standardized contract text and focused on consumer financial protection. In terms of credit, Industrial Bank has gone over and revised all consumer financial protection-related contents in existing business contracts and attached forms, adding provisions for consumers' right to choose and their right to information security. In terms of wealth management, the Bank has reviewed and revised existing agreement texts, and taken solid action to safeguard consumers' right to information, right to choose, and personal information security.

(Fair promotion of product and service marketing and advertising)

3.Emphasize information disclosure, fortify the compliance marketing defense line

First, the Bank has improved the information disclosure of products and services to ensure the transparency and disclosure of information. Clients can search the information on various products by using corresponding inquiry entries on the business bulletin board of the Bank's official website. For example, the information on product lists can be searched by clicking the "Product Information Search" button under the "Investment Financing" tab. Second, the Bank promotes fair advertising policies to ensure the management of products and marketing services. The Bank has formulated and taken into implementation a number of management measures, including the Industrial Bank Brand Management Measures, Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for Advertising on New Media Platforms, Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests in Financial Marketing and Advertising, the Industrial Bank Management Measures for Consumer Financial Protection Review, etc. The contents of the Bank's advertisement are all under strict review by professional sectors of institutions at all levels. The Bank has also formulated and issued normative operational documents including the Specification Manual of Advertising and Publicity, the Examination Table of Advertising and Publicity, and the Considerations for Consumer Financial Protection in Marketing and Publicity, which clearly stipulated the marketing norms and prohibited contents. The Bank issued the norms for marketing and publicity information on new media platforms in the Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for Advertising on New Media Platforms. The Administrative Measures of Industrial Bank for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests in Financial Marketing and Advertising clearly stipulated that personal financial products and marketing services should adhere to the related laws, regulations, and regulatory requirements concerning consumer financial protection, and avoid exaggeration and fraud publicity. Financial rights and interests such as the right to information, the right to choose, the right to fair trade, the right to be respected, and the right to information security should be secured in financial marketing and advertising, so as to safeguard consumer financial protection. The Bank also requires that the publicity texts of products and services should be under the review of consumer financial protection. At the same time, the Bank issued regulations on the norms of financial marketing and publicity consumer financial protection, the review mechanism for information management and issuance, supervision of marketing and publicity, etc. To meet the standardized requirements of the Bank's outward marketing, all advertising and publicity materials must be reviewed before being used in public. Organizations are required to provide training for new employees, prohibit the use of non-compliant advertising and sales materials by employees, standardize sales procedures, and emphasize fair treatment of customers. Third, the Bank has standardized specific sales pitches for certain businesses, and enhanced the compliant sales training and product compliance sales management, covering all businesses. The Bank has systematically established a standardized system for the qualification, training, and sales of salesmen. Rules and regulations have been distributed and sales pitches enhanced, with detailed instructions on the features and risks of a product given to consumers, in a bid to offer solid protection to consumers' right to information. Fourth, the Bank has strengthened its efforts in major information disclosure. Since 2018, the Bank has issued its performance in consumer financial protection in the Annual Report, with the complaint data of financial consumers and related analytical reports distributed to the society in various channels including the Annual Report, social responsibility reports, Industrial Bank's official website, Mobile Banking App, etc., to ensure information transparency and disclosure. At the same time, the Bank's complaint channels have been announced in its outlets, official website's homepage, Mobile Banking App, WeChat public account, first menu of the helpline, consumer agreement, etc. Fifth, the Bank has improved the traceability management of sales and strictly implemented suitability management for consumers. The Bank attached importance to the classification and dynamic management of financial product and service risks, securing the disclosure of product information for consumers in an authentic, comprehensive, and precise manner. To fully reveal the risk, the Bank forbids the way of "evaluation after sales" by optimizing the systematic control method. Industrial Bank's agency products strictly adhere to the risk rating mechanisms by being reviewed before entering the market, to better protect consumer financial protection.

4.Strict Complaint Management with Unobstructed Complaint Handling and Processing Procedures

Industrial Bank place a high value on the work of handling consumer complaints. In early 2023, in accordance with Chairman Lyu Jiajin’s instructions on “treating both the symptoms and the root cause, with a commitment to beginning with the symptoms and working backwards to tackle the root cause, so as to take the Bank’s protection of consumer rights and interests to a new level”, the Bank launched the “100-day initiative,” a special action on complaint management, and pooled efforts to promote the reduction in complaints. The Head Office has effectively promoted complaint management through a slew of measures such as supervision of key branches, holding special meetings, issuing 10-day work reports, complaint warning letters, and warnings for typical complaint cases, and interviewing badly performing institutions. As a result of the bank-wide efforts, the number of complaints filed through the former banking and insurance regulatory channel in the first quarter of 2023 was 2,788, down by 41.9% from the same period last year, and the ranking in the trade in terms of number of complaints fell by four places compared with the same period last year. The complaint management work yielded remarkable results.

Industrial Bank attaches great importance to customer experience, actively listens to customer feedback, and actively responds to customer demands. We collect customer feedback from multiple perspectives and channels. In terms of customer satisfaction, in 2022, Industrial Bank conducted a satisfaction survey of customers through the telephone banking channel, with a satisfaction rate of 99.91% (sample size: 484,500 households). In terms of customer complaints, the satisfaction rate of customer complaint follow-up in 2022 was 99.76%. Additionally, we have expanded the breadth and depth of customer surveys by using intelligent outbound calls to conduct satisfaction surveys. The overall satisfaction rate of customers with the customer service center was 91.58%, and the satisfaction rate with customer service representatives was 98.66%.

The Analytical Report on Financial Consumer Complaints in the First Half of 2023

In the first half of 2023, the company received a total of 200,126 consumer complaints across all complaint channels, with the average number of complaints per outlet standing at 16.14. The complaint rate is 0.21%, while the satisfaction rate reaches 99.76% after paying return visits to complainants. The volume of consumer complaints received across all complaint channels of the company decreased by 54,868 cases compared to the same period last year, a reduction of 21.52%.. The number of complaints of the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's channel in the first quarter of 2023 was reduced to 2,788, 2,018 less than the same period last year, registering a 41.9% year-on-year decrease. Industrial Bank's consumer complaints are characterized by the following features:

1.From the perspective of the regional distribution of consumer complaints, the Yangtze River Delta region had the most complaints. The number of complaints was 30,634 in Shanghai, accounting for 15.3%, 6,874 in Jiangsu Province, accounting for 3.4%, and 6,176 in Zhejiang Province, accounting for 3.1%. The number of complaints in the Pearl River Delta region (referring to Guangdong Province) was 14,295, accounting for 7.1%. The number of complaints in Beijing and Hebei Province was 5,434 and 6,923 respectively, accounting for 2.7% and 3.5% respectively. In the Chengdu-Chongqing region, the number of complaints in Sichuan Province and Chongqing was 5,642 and 3,495 respectively, accounting for 2.8% and 1.7% respectively. In other key regions, Fujian Province had 11,933 complaints, accounting for 6.0% and Shandong Province had 13,485, accounting for 6.7%.

2.From the perspective of the handling channels of the complained business, there were 78,014 complaints through front office business channels, accounting for 38.98%, and 122,112 complaints through middle and background business channels, accounting for 61.02%. For complaints received through front office business channels, there were 16,759 complaints through the business site, accounting for 21.48%; 60,229 complaints through electronic channels, accounting for 77.20%; and 1,026 complaints through other business channels such as self-service machines and third-party channels, accounting for 1.32%.

3.From the perspective of consumer complaint types, credit card business complaints accounted for 87.14%; debit card business complaints accounted for 5.49%; loan business complaints accounted for 4.14%; complaints about self-operated wealth management and banking agency business accounted for 1.24%; payment and settlement business complaints accounted for 0.26%; RMB savings and RMB management complaints accounted for 0.12%; complaints about other business such as foreign exchange, precious metals, and personal financial information accounted for 1.61%.

4.From the perspective of reasons for consumer complaints, there were 69,259 complaints about the management rules, business rules and processes of financial institutions, accounting for 34.61%; there were 107,045 complaints about methods and means of debt collection, accounting for 53.49%; 17,666 complaints about marketing methods and means, accounting for 8.83%; 2,557 complaints about service attitude and quality, accounting for 1.28%; 1,841 complaints about service facilities, equipment, and business systems, accounting for 0.92%; 684 complaints about consumers’ fund security, accounting for 0.34%; 456 complaints about pricing and charges, accounting for 0.23%; 130 complaints about information disclosure, accounting for 0.06%; 488 complaints about other reasons such as independent choice, product earnings, information security, and contract terms, accounting for 0.24%.

Channels for receiving consumer complaints

The Bank has been improving the complaint-handling channels by establishing a clear and standardized complaint-handling procedure. Both online and offline channels of complaint service are available, including the official website, Industrial Bank Mobile Banking APP, helpline 95561, banking outlets, and email. Industrial Bank listens to the voice of every consumer and responds to their needs in time.

Consumer complaint handling satisfaction

Better management is provided in respect of consumer satisfaction with the handling of consumer complaints. We learn about consumers’ satisfaction with the handling of complaints in a timely manner through return visits and supervise the quality of complaint handling. In recent years, the level of satisfaction with our consumer complaint handling has improved, from 99.02% in the first quarter of 2022 to 99.66% in the second quarter of 2023.

Complaint management

Oversight of Complaints Management level committee: In the revised articles of association approved and effective in 2022, Industrial Bank clearly stipulates that the board of directors bears the ultimate responsibility for consumer financial protection, guiding, supervising, and evaluating the work of consumer financial protection. The Board's Risk Management and Consumer Financial Protection Committee, authorized by the board of directors, carries out relevant work, discusses and decides on related matters, studies significant issues related to consumer financial protection, guides and supervises the establishment and improvement of the management system for consumer financial protection, regularly reviews and studies reports on consumer financial protection, assists in guiding, supervising, and evaluating consumer financial protection work, supervises the implementation of corrective measures for related issues, and provides recommendations to the board of directors. Industrial Bank has strengthened the management of complaint handling. We have established a service quality management organization specifically responsible for monitoring the service quality of online customer service, and we investigate the handling of customer complaints through a customer follow-up mechanism. Additionally, we have established a head office Consumer Financial Protection Office to manage and review complaints throughout the bank. Therefore, Industrial Bank has established an independent and comprehensive regular consumer protection audit mechanism to supervise and evaluate the performance of consumer protection work, including complaint management.

Complaint indicator control: We set multi-dimensional complaint management assessment indicators as well as annual and phased complaint management targets including time limit for complaint handling, level of satisfaction with complaint handling, and the proportion of complaints transferred from the regulatory body. The Bank regularly monitors indicators, includes them in complaint notification and assessment, gauges the effectiveness of complaint management work through complaint management indicators, and urges all institutions to tighten complaint management, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of complaint management.

Review products and services by analyzing the reasons for complaints: Industrial Bank’s Consumer Financial Protection Office regularly conducts analysis, monitoring, and reporting regarding consumer complaints received through all channels of the Bank, with a focus on the prominent and typical complaints and causes in the current period, finds out weaknesses in the complaint management and handling process, and puts forward work requirements. Regarding business problems that are prominent, typical, or frequently reported by consumers, the Bank sends the Notice on Rectification of Complaints for Consumer Financial Protection, Warning Letter of Consumer Complaints, etc. to relevant institutions to urge them to ensure problem analysis and rectification, and promote product and service enhancement.

Promoting traceability and rectification: The Bank underscores the primary responsibility for complaint management, assigns top officials to take charge of relevant affairs, and puts in place a key support mechanism for interviews with the leaders of underperforming institutions as well as institutions with prominent problems. The Bank strengthens the source management of complaints, continues to improve the consumer financial protection process, and prevents the launch of flawed products and businesses. The Bank focuses on rectifying complaints from key business, fosters inter-department collaboration, promotes timely communication, and propose solutions to unravel knotty problems. The Bank strengthens the business guidance of branches, regulates process management, and emphasizes regulatory compliance in business.

Strengthen complaint handling: The Bank regulates the management of the complaint-handling process, increases complaint response and handling efficiency, and encourages in-scope institutions to resolve consumer conflicts and disputes through multiple forms such as third-party mediation. At the same time, the Bank has developed systems including emergency response plans for major consumer complaints and regularly organizes drills for emergency plans to improve the capability in emergency response to major complaints. The Bank emphasizes whistleblower protection and strictly forbids retaliation against complaints and reporting consumers, which has been stressed in the training for the Bank's management. In addition, the Bank has clarified the reward and punishment mechanism of complaint management, according to which the institutions or individuals that fail to properly handle complaints or cause major risks of complaints will be punished and held accountable.

Upgrading of Complaint Management System: Industrial Bank as a pilot bank for the standardization of regulatory complaint classification, is the first in the industry to independently develop a complaint management system, which has been praised by the regulatory authorities multiple times. At the same time, the Bank consistently carries out scientific and technological innovation and employs big data technology to optimize the big data function of the complaint management system. The bank upgrades functions such as AI classification, complaint alerts, complaint label management, consumer complaint profile, and data analysis to provide effective support for intelligent management, classification, and analysis throughout the complaint process.

Industrial Bank will consistently pay attention to consumer complaints, regulate the complaint handling process, safeguard the financial rights and interests of complainants, use consumer complaints as a valuable source of information for improving business and services, consistently optimize products, businesses, processes, systems, services, etc., and communicate with consumers to improve consumer experience.

5.Fulfilling Social Responsibilities with Consumer Education and Popularization

In terms of consumer education, the Bank focuses on key populations including the elderly, teenagers, and new citizens, and key areas such as rural areas and ethnic minority communities. The contents of consumer education are innovative, multi-layered, and of a fine quality. By continuously updating these contents, promoting intensive utilization of resources, and making full use of all channels, the Bank guides and helps consumers in the acquisition of the financial knowledge they urgently need, in a bid to enhance their abilities to identify and prevent financial risks.

(Collaborative Partnership with Institutions of Financial Education)

Jointly organized by the Bank’s Head Office and Minjiang University in Fujian province is the thematic course on consumer financial protection, during which the deputy director of the Consumer  Right Protection Office gave a lecture on the protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers. This is a solid action to consolidate the "firewall" against campus financial fraud for the sake of the students; all the Bank’s branches are encouraged to establish their systematic, professional, and long-term demonstration bases for financial education. The Bank has promoted the establishment of a long-term mechanism for financial knowledge popularization in a steady manner, and offered guidance to the construction of "Popularization Base for Elderly Financial Education" jointly established by the Fuzhou branch and Fujian Senior University, which is the first of its kind in Fujian province. The Bank also opened up a supporting learning field where financial education comes in the forms of popularization activities welcome by all elderly groups; in accordance with "3.15 International Day for Consumers' Rights and Interests", the "2023 Series Campaign for Consumer Financial Protection 'Centered on the Risk Warning for Customers'" has been initiated, involving all branches, outlets, and Head Quarter departments. The campaign consists of 10 thematic series activities including a series of offline activities, the prized quiz contest themed "Promote Customer Protection and Financial Education", the "Screen Protector Notice" to raise customer protection awareness, training series on customer protection, the "Full Inspection on the Whole Bank" for the implementation of customer protection, and the “Relearning of ‘Industrial Bank’s 50 Red Lines on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests’”, aimed to carry out the philosophy of "Service for the bank’s foundation, consumer financial protection first", and offer solid protection to the legal rights and interests of financial customers.

(Provide educational outreach for people who have difficulty in gaining financial knowledge)

Focusing on key areas including rural areas, remote regions, and ethnic minority communities, and key populations such as the elderly, teenagers, and new citizens, the Bank offers convenient and diversified options in financial literacy and services. For example, in consideration of the elderly's weakness in information access, the Bank's outlets carry out thematic services such as "Heartwarming Service" "Aid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities" and "Neighborhood Services", to provide elderly customers with "solid services, solutions to their problems, and warmness"; the Bank continues to organize elderly-targeting lectures on legal knowledge and finance security. A variety of public training, activities, and lecture series have been organized by community banks, traditional branches and outlets, cooperative universities for seniors, and neighborhood committees to raise elderly people's awareness of illicit financial activities such as telecom fraud and pension schemes.

The Bank carried out 7,359 consumer education and publicity activities both online and offline, reaching about 88.1569 million consumers and achieving good results.

6.Deepening the Commitment to Strong Consumer Financial Protection Compliance and Enhancing Internal Training for Employees

(Actively carry out training for employees to promote their awareness of compliance)

Industrial Bank released the 2023 Consumer Protection and Service Training Plan at the beginning of the year, aiming to enhance training effectiveness through strengthening regulatory policy and case interpretation, optimizing training methods, and providing guidance on complaint handling measures. The plan requires the participation of senior management or newly hired personnel in specialized consumer protection training across all bank departments, including product and service departments at branch levels, as well as all frontline staff at bank branches. The head office conducts quarterly assessments and supervision of training through branch-level consumer protection evaluations, requiring a 100% coverage rate for training of all customer-facing employees. Furthermore, increased training frequency is required for positions involving high-risk and frequently complained-about financial consumer services.

Since the beginning of the year, Industrial Bank has conducted a total of 12 consumer protection training sessions with a combined participation of 77,200 individuals, both online and offline. For example, the head office's Consumer Financial Protection Office utilized the "Quanxing Learning" thematic activities organized by the Industrial Party School to disseminate study materials on the spirit of consumer financial protection conferences. A total of 56,300 employees participated in the learning and passed the test with an average score of 96.71 points. Online consumer protection courses were also launched on the "Xingzhi" app learning platform, offering seven specialized training sessions that covered topics such as relearning the 50 "red lines" of consumer protection and interpreting branch consumer protection service standards. The online training had a total participation of 67,700 individuals. In addition, five offline consumer protection training sessions have been conducted, including high-level training, covering topics such as the interpretation of policy requirements, consumer protection review points, complaint management, and branch services. Key areas of focus included promoting standardized marketing language and typical cases of consumer protection review. The offline training sessions had a total participation of 9,489 individuals.

Furthermore, the head office's Consumer Financial Protection Office is dedicated to guiding and supervising consumer financial protection throughout the bank. They collect and analyze typical cases of financial marketing and advertising practices that infringe upon consumer rights within the industry. They employ various methods, such as training, notifications, and issuing documents, to provide guidance to the bank's business departments regarding financial marketing and advertising practices. For example, they have conducted multiple training sessions bank-wide, including specialized training on the "Measures for the Administration of Consumer Financial Protection in Banking and Insurance Institutions" (No. 9 Order) and consumer financial protection review training. These sessions focus on the eight rights of financial consumers and regulatory requirements and emphasize standardized marketing language, risk warnings, and other important aspects of consumer financial protection, along with typical case studies. These efforts aim to ensure compliance with the provisions outlined in the "Industrial Bank Consumer Financial Protection Measures for Financial Marketing and Advertising Practices" and cover consumer protection management personnel at both the head office and subsidiaries, with nearly 10,000 participants from across the bank.

(Expand training channels)

Industrial Bank offers a variety of online and offline courses in response to the work scenarios of employees as well as the common needs of consumers.

- Relying on the “Xingzhi” app, the Bank provides practical training courses that cater to the needs of frontline employees, such as the “Bank Application of Standards on Consumer Complaint Classification”, “Interpretation of Consumer Financial Protection in Sales”, and “Analysis of Typical Cases of Consumer Financial Protection for Key Businesses.” Leveraging the online learning platform, the employees can make full use of their “fragmented time” to learn more about consumer financial protection.

-The Bank has organized offline consumer financial protection training series at the levels of threads of work and branches, and enhanced the systematic acquisition of policy systems, complaint-handling skills, and compliant sales philosophy of customer-facing staff, so as to further consolidate primary business staff’s basis in consumer financial protection.

-Business units have also carried out consumer financial protection training sessions targeted at key businesses. For example, the Credit Card Center in the Head Office organizes a whole-member study of regulations and the Head Office’s norms of consumer financial protection with a minimum monthly studying length of 2 hours. At the same time, the Bank continues to organize online training for its branches, including courses such as “Complaint-Resolving Skills”, and additional consumer financial protection training on major business such as collection. A total of 1,141 people, covering the whole staff, have studied and passed the exam in the first half of 2023.  

- Various institutions of the Bank also organize the frontline staff of business outlets to carry out self-learning during morning and evening meetings.

7.Basic Services for Consumers in Need

In terms of outlet services, the Bank has set up over 2,000 "Industrial Bank Welfare Stations" aimed at offering high-quality, convenient, and safe public welfare services for all based on the convenience social welfare services provided by their outlets. The Bank offers its contributions and services to society by constructing a high-quality service platform. Industrial Bank Welfare Stations provide various convenience services, including heartwarming services for urban outdoor workers, the elderly and people with special needs, and community residents, and convenience services including the free use of outlets' microwaves and toilets, as well as the drinking water and respite services for sanitation workers, traffic police, couriers, takeout delivery workers, taxi drivers, urban management staff, community volunteers, in the effort to build a bank that caters to people's needs. Industrial Bank's branch in Xiamen has also introduced an innovative project, the "flow service car", as an extension of outlet financial services. The Car is an integration of counter services, a financial welfare station, and the education and publicity base for consumer financial protection. The Car facilitates the access of ordinary people to professional and efficient financial services. In addition, to secure the continuously improving quality of consumer financial protection, the Bank hired a third-party corporation to conduct the monitoring project of consumer financial protection quality in its outlets, enhancing internal examination such as consumer financial protection facilities in the lobby, the bank-lobby manager consumer financial protection services, counter consumer financial protection services, and financial manager consumer financial protection services. The results will be included in the consumer financial protection evaluation of branches and help improve the quality and efficiency of outlet services, to safeguard financial consumers' legitimate rights and interests.

The Bank has improved the elderly-oriented counter services of its outlets to better cater to elderly customers' needs. Their right to be respected is safeguarded by newly-added services including cross-counter interaction, text enlargement of client interaction terminals for over-the-counter trading, and prolonged password entry time, which effectively eases the difficulties of form-completing and shortens the time for counter businesses for the elderly and other customers with special needs. At the same time, the Bank applies digital methods to ensure a continuous improvement of online financial services. First, the Bank has further enriched the contents of pension financial services by optimizing the functions of the pension financial sector in the Industrial Bank Mobile Banking App, providing services such as legal consultation, insurance services, pension information, and an Enjoyable Life course. Second, the Bank has developed voice broadcast services to cater to the elderly's preference for listening rather than reading. Third, in consideration of the elderly's audio and visual needs, the Bank has launched the Enjoyable Life version with enlarged text, which enables an automatic switch of versions according to customers' age; at the same time, a "switch" button is also added to the home page of the Industrial Bank Mobile Banking App, facilitating the process of switching for customers. Fourth, the Bank has optimized transfer functions by adding voice verification for transfer by bank card number and mobile number; the motion verification for facial recognition has been enhanced with an automatic age-filtering mechanism that removes the verification motions such as nodding or shaking the head for customers above 60.

The Bank has applied digital measures to empower new citizen services. In terms of customer identification, a customer tagging system has been established to provide targeted services for new citizens; in the aspect of service channels, digital entries to the new citizen service ecosystem have been added to the Industrial Bank Mobile Banking App and other channels. The services include the online one-stop application for exclusive debit and credit cards for new citizens, the opening of personal pension accounts, the convenient application for Industrial Bank Flash Loan and Merchant Loan, the signing up of gift-giving credit card payments, and the receiving of bonuses, the opening of electronic health insurance/social security cards, and new citizen policies information. The Bank's financial services for new citizens have been the winner of multiple awards, such as the "First Top 10 Financial Products Serving New Citizens in Fujian Province", and the "2022 China Banking and Insurance News Innovative Service Cases".