Editor’s Note:
The deep and comprehensive undertaking of thematic education across the Party, focusing on studying and implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era, is of great significance and wide-reaching impact. On November 24, 2023, The Study Times published an article, written by Lv Jiajin, Party Secretary and Chairman of IB. The article, titled Charting a Path of Financial Development with Chinese Characteristics through Thematic Education at Industrial Bank, reflects on IB’s unique practices in finance and the results of the thematic education. The full text is as follows:
Since the commencement of thematic education, IB has adhered closely to the overarching goals of “learning the ideology, strengthening party spirit, focusing on practice, and making new achievements.” The bank has profoundly grasped the political and people-oriented nature of financial work, striving to achieve solid outcomes by imbuing souls with learning, enhancing wisdom, correcting conduct, and promoting action through learning. This endeavor contributes vigorously to the new journey of modernization with Chinese characteristics and writes IB’s chapter on the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics.
Adhering to Deep Understanding and Insight
Guiding Progress with the Party’s Innovative Theories
Fujian Province is a crucial birthplace and testing ground for Xi Jinping's Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era. Rooted in Fujian, IB, benefiting from the prevailing intellectual climate, has always prioritized “learning the ideology.” The bank integrates thematic education with the inheritance and promotion of significant concepts and practices initiated by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his tenure in Fujian. It also combines this with the study and implementation of General Secretary Xi’s important statements on financial work and the directives for IB. The bank undertakes comprehensive learning, understanding, and practical application of these principles.
Adhering to the principle of leading by example in learning is vital. IB strictly implements the “first agenda item” system, strengthening the approach of “Party Committee leadership, branch promotion, and full employee engagement.” Across the bank, 355 youth theoretical study groups have been formed, conducting thematic educational lectures that have reached over 30,000 Party members both inside and outside the bank. The bank combines learning Party and bank history, integrating the 35th-anniversary remembrance of the bank’s history with thematic education. This approach systematically revisits the care, support, and important directives given by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his work in Fujian to IB. With this focus, the bank has established a history museum and organized activities under the theme “Trace the Origins, Study the Thoughts, Embrace the Mission, and Promote Practice,” creating a virtuous cycle of learning and action. IB is committed to joint learning initiatives, both within and outside the bank. It has promoted the ‘Red Partner’ party-building co-construction mechanism, collaborating with over 1,200 enterprises and institutions for joint party-building activities, thereby fostering a deep integration and mutual promotion of party-building and business operations.
In the process of thoroughly learning and applying the Party’s innovative theories, we closely align with the profound changes of the new era over the past decade and the leapfrog development of IB over 35 years. We continuously enhance our political, intellectual, theoretical, and emotional identification with the Party’s innovative theories. We consistently translate the “major national concerns” into “key institutional tasks” to ensure that the bank’s development steadily progresses in the right political direction.
Persisting in Integrating Learning with Practice
Continuously Deepening and Internalizing Thematic Education
IB insists on integrating theoretical learning, research, development promotion, and rectification to ensure cohesion and comprehensive progress. This approach addresses the “disconnect” between learning and application, driving the thematic education to be more profound, practical, and ideological.
Effectively Utilize Research and Investigation as A “Family Heirloom.” The bank carries forward the fine tradition of “going deep into the grassroots in four aspects.” Focused on the 12 research topics proposed by the Central Party Committee and combined with key issues that need to be addressed in the bank’s transformation and development, extensive research and investigations have been undertaken. Since the launch of thematic education, various levels of the bank’s Party organizations have developed 672 research topics, conducted 1,698 research initiatives, produced 694 research reports, resolved 2,564 issues, proposed 1,256 measures for promoting work, and formulated 53 types of systems, constructing a closed-loop workflow of “research and investigation – problem identification – problem-solving – system establishment.”
Identify Breakthroughs to Solve Key Challenges. IB meticulously aligns thematic education with its transformational development, focusing on solving critical issues to foster progress. The bank prioritizes increasing revenue and reducing expenses, driving a restructuring of its balance sheet while simultaneously expanding both interest and non-interest income. It strives to reduce risk costs and continually enhances resource allocation efficiency and output levels. Embracing an “enterprise-level, standardized” approach, IB reshapes its business and technological architectures. It solidifies its digital foundation, continuously builds platforms, expands scenarios, and develops ecosystems, thus enhancing its capabilities in digital operations and management.
“Proactively” Engaging in Inspection and Rectification. In line with the objectives of rectifying conduct through learning, IB combines problem-oriented and goal-oriented approaches, intertwining learning, investigation, and rectification. Addressing six key issues identified in thematic education, the bank systematically reviews problems discovered through research, development challenges, and issues strongly raised at the grassroots level. Combining findings from inspections and audit supervision, IB insists on “immediate rectification” and “sustainable solutions”, using a ledger-based management and project-based approach. All 12 projects have been rectified, in which those unqualified have been signed off.
Upholding Integrity and Innovation
Providing High-Quality Financial Services to Support China’s Modernization
IB earnestly studies and implements the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference, continuously consolidating, deepening, and applying the outcomes of thematic education. Unwavering in its path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, the bank contributes significantly to the comprehensive advancement of national strength and national rejuvenation.
Fostering “Roots and Soul,” IB effectively transforms its strength in party-building into developmental advantages. It consistently integrates the strengthening and upholding of the Party’s comprehensive leadership throughout corporate governance and business management, leading high-quality development with high-quality party-building. The bank promotes the organic integration of the Party’s leadership with corporate governance, leveraging the core role of the Party committee. Based on the principle of “embedding party-building in the articles,” the bank practices “mutual entry and cross-appointments” between the Party committee and “two boards, one management (Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, and Senior Management)” members, continuously refining its systems and mechanisms. IB also ensures the integration of party-building with operational development, establishing a comprehensive “party-building +1+N” assessment system. It actively aligns with the Central Party Committee’s decisions and plans, finding its strategic convergence point and continually expanding its developmental horizons. The bank harmoniously integrates party management of cadres and talent cultivation with business development, continuously improving its education and training system centered around party-building. Implementing the “10,000 talents” plans for technology and green finance based on the “5 + N” educational system centered on party-building, and establishing institutes for Fintech, carbon finance, and Southeast Asian studies, IB aims to become a high-level talent aggregation platform.
Coordinating ‘Dismantling and Building,’ IB enhances the alignment of business and economic structures. The bank meticulously balances the aspects of dismantling outdated practices and building new ones, focusing on high-quality development as its primary task and deepening financial supply-side structural reforms to enhance services to the real economy. IB consistently polishes its “Three Pillars” in serving national strategies. In supporting the “Dual Carbon” strategy, IB accelerates its “full green” transformation, with a green finance financing balance of 1.86 trillion yuan, and has been rated A in the MSCI ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) assessment for Chinese banking for four consecutive years. In serving common prosperity, IB comprehensively manages financial and non-financial wealth management services, continuously improving its wealth management operation system, and vigorously developing pension finance, with the wealth management scale exceeding 2 trillion yuan. In serving technological innovation, IB integrates group resources and connects multi-level capital markets, enhancing its Investment Bank profile, excelling in technology finance, with the group’s Finance Product Aggregate (FPA) reaching 8.56 trillion yuan. IB adapts to the economic development trend of the new “technology-industry-finance” triangle, continuously focusing on “Five New Tracks,” injecting new financial energy into the modern industrial system. By the end of September, inclusive SME loans, technology innovation loans, energy finance financing, auto finance financing, and industrial park finance financing all recorded double-digit growth, reaching balances of 477.3 billion, 432.3 billion, 733.8 billion, 389.6 billion, and 2.01 trillion yuan, respectively.
IB grasps the ‘timing and momentum,’ reconstructing new models of financial services through digitalization. Continuing the strategy of “Technology-driven Banking,” IB vigorously promotes digital transformation, actively exploring new models of digital financial services. Renovating the financial “water conservancy project,” IB directs financial resources from major cities to vast rural areas. Using digital technology, IB addresses challenges in servicing “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” due to limited outlets, high costs, and significant risks. It explores new paths of “Fintech Delegate” for rural revitalization, actively employing satellite remote sensing, the Internet of Things, and AI technologies to creditize and monitor agricultural crops and living biological assets, empowering rural revitalization, with agricultural loan balances exceeding 640 billion yuan. IB ensures the flow of financial “capillaries” from large enterprises to SMEs. Utilizing big data to alleviate information asymmetry, IB upgrades and launches the “IB Inclusive Finance” platform, using big data for the “precise profiling” of SMEs, reducing their need to “run around” and addressing corporate financing needs totaling over 200 billion yuan. IB reconstructs the credit evaluation system with “Technology Flow,” treating data as the “fourth financial statement,” accurately irrigating technology innovation and specialized enterprises, with approved amounts exceeding 2 trillion yuan. With the “Chain Leader Institution,” IB promotes integrated operations among upstream and downstream industries and businesses of all sizes, improving the accessibility of financing for SMEs on the chain, with SME loan balances exceeding 2 trillion yuan.
Maintaining ‘Stability and Progress,’ IB upholds the bottom line of financial security. IB is committed to ensuring financial security and stability. Adhering to the comprehensive national security concept, the bank maintains a steady approach to progress, emphasizing bottom-line thinking to safeguard financial security. It enhances comprehensive risk management by building “three lines of defense,” continuously improving an integrated risk management system that covers domestic and foreign currencies, on-and-off balance sheet items, domestic and international operations, and online and offline channels, including both parent and subsidiary companies within the group. The bank effectively manages both traditional and emerging risks, staying ahead of market trends. IB focuses on precision in risk management, particularly in critical areas like real estate, local financing platforms, and credit cards, ensuring stable asset quality. It emphasizes security by increasing investment in technology research and development, creating a reliable, secure, and technologically advanced foundation. The bank strengthens systemic resilience by leveraging the “IB Platform for Integrated Banking” to export talent, technology, and systems, empowering small and medium-sized financial institutions and constructing a new financial ecosystem for risk co-management. Staying true to its origins, IB fosters a virtuous cycle between finance and the economy, safeguarding energy, food, and supply chain security, and aiding in the creation of a new security framework.