Grassroot Party chiefs reversing rural credit vacuum

The practice has helped fast-track the loan application process.

One of Xu's "clients" Xu Qinghua (the two Xus are not related), a pig breeder in Xujiahe village, obtained a 200,000 yuan loan last year. The whole process took only two days, whereas previously the application could drag on for months and the maximum loan was only 50,000 yuan.

According to Zhou Weidong, head of the rural commercial bank in Hong'an county, not one debtor has defaulted on interest payments since the program was launched in 2013.

"Grassroot Party committees are indispensable in helping improve rural financial services," said Xu Biwei.

Xujiahe is not an isolated case, as other villages are helping farmers get their hands on vital access to loans.

Qin Hanfeng, deputy head of Hubei's banking regulatory authority, said by the end of March, more than 3,000 grassroot Party organizations in the province had helped secure 1.8 billion yuan in loans for over 7,000 Chinese farmers. Also, application time had been cut by half.

Xie Haibin, deputy head of the CPC's organization department in Hong'an county, said interactions between villagers and village officials have improved with the loan facilitation program.

Xu Biwei echoed this. "In the old days, we really had trouble in convincing Party members and representatives of villagers to come together.But now, all we need to do is to tell them to come."