Recently, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration of China issued the "Reply on the Establishment of Gansu Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd.", which shows that it agrees to establish Gansu Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Gansu Rural Commercial Bank"). As a result, Gansu Rural Commercial Bank became the first provincial-level rural commercial bank approved for establishment this year. Gansu Province has also become the seventh province after Liaoning, Hainan, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Xinjiang to explicitly promote the reform of provincial cooperative societies through a unified legal person model. According to the official website of Gansu Rural Credit Cooperatives Union, Gansu Rural Credit Cooperatives has 37 rural commercial banks, 5 rural cooperative banks, and 41 county-level cooperatives, with financial services covering both urban and rural areas. Rural commercial banks are an important component of small and medium-sized financial institutions. The 2025 Central Economic Work Conference proposed to "deepen the reduction and quality improvement of small and medium-sized financial institutions". In recent years, financial regulatory authorities have repeatedly emphasized that in promoting the reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions, we must adhere to the principles of seeking truth from facts and steadily advancing, not adopt a one size fits all approach, and adhere to the principle of "one province, one policy" to accelerate the reform of rural credit cooperatives. The 'one province, one policy' policy enables the reform of rural credit cooperatives to adapt to the actual situation of local economic development and rural financial institutions, and to prevent and resolve risks according to local conditions. The strategy of 'one province, one policy' will promote local governments to formulate reform plans based on the actual needs of their respective provinces, making the reforms more closely aligned with the local economic and social situation. ”Lv Shuang, a senior researcher in the banking industry at Xingye Research, said that currently, the actual risk situation of rural financial institutions in different provinces varies greatly, and the actual difficulties they face also differ. For example, some provinces need to focus on solving the asset quality problems of rural small and medium-sized financial institutions, while some provinces' rural small and medium-sized financial institutions need more capital supplementation or clarification of equity structure. The reform of "one province, one policy" can develop risk mitigation plans for these specific issues. Specifically, regulatory authorities have gradually clarified the direction of the restructuring of the Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, positioning them as "financial enterprises with clear property rights, clear rights and responsibilities, and standardized management". For example, the Supervision Department of Rural Small and Medium sized Banks of the State Administration for Financial Regulation has formulated a clear direction for the reform of the provincial cooperative, requiring support to cooperate with the provincial party committee and government to promote the reform of rural credit cooperatives through "one province, one policy". By clarifying functional positioning, regulating performance behavior, and enhancing economic connections between the two levels of legal persons, a rural credit cooperative system that combines centralized and decentralized management, multi-level operation, functional complementarity, and effective governance can be created. At the same time, the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs have issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Financial Services for Rural Reform and Promoting Comprehensive Rural Revitalization", proposing to adhere to the positioning of rural small and medium-sized banks supporting agriculture and small businesses. Experts believe that reform and restructuring are conducive to further streamlining mechanisms, enabling rural commercial banks to better adhere to their positioning of supporting agriculture and small businesses, and focus on serving rural areas and small and micro enterprises. Guided by a series of policies, rural credit systems in various regions are focusing on improving the quality and efficiency of agricultural financial services, empowering the development of agriculture, rural areas, farmers, and small and micro enterprises with the power of finance. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the demand for high-quality aquatic products in the market continues to heat up. At this critical point of the production and sales season, the customer manager of Jiashan Rural Commercial Bank Dingzha Branch under the jurisdiction of Zhejiang Rural Commercial Bank actively contacted Jiaxing Green Warehouse Agriculture Co., Ltd. and timely invested 1 million yuan in credit funds to support its expansion of green breeding scale and improvement of supply capacity. At present, the enterprise is steadily driving collaborative production among surrounding farmers through the form of "company+cooperative+farmers", helping to increase agricultural efficiency and rural vitality. Zhang Xiaofeng, a researcher at the China Institute of Inclusive Finance, stated that on the one hand, small and medium-sized banks mainly serve "three rural" entities such as farmers, family farms, and farmer professional cooperatives in counties. By increasing the supply of agricultural credit and providing relevant financial services, they can meet the financial service needs of their households for consumption, production, and operation; On the other hand, supporting agriculture and small businesses is the core advantage of small and medium-sized banks. With flexible decision-making mechanisms and geographical connections, small and medium-sized banks can simplify approval processes, innovate credit loans, accurately match the needs of small and micro entities, and help small and micro enterprises reduce operating costs and achieve stable development. The merger and integration of small and medium-sized financial institutions are closely related to the process of reforming insurance. Due to the influence of local economy and industrial structure, some rural credit institutions have weak financial asset quality, and are constrained by historical burdens such as non-performing assets, resulting in prominent financial risks and hidden dangers. The State Administration of Financial Regulation held a regulatory work conference in 2026, clarifying the focus on dealing with existing risks, resolutely curbing incremental risks, and firmly holding the bottom line of not "exploding mines". Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Su Shang Bank, stated that the reform of agricultural credit institutions mainly stems from the urgent need to prevent and resolve financial risks. The reform of small and medium-sized banks is the core of financial supply side structural reform, which is crucial for serving national strategies, preventing systemic risks, and promoting high-quality regional economic development. Through the reform of "reducing quantity and improving quality", it is possible to directly resolve the risks of high non-performing assets and insufficient capital caused by some institutions being "small, scattered, and weak", prevent the spread of risks, and thus build a micro stable foundation for the entire financial system. The reform and restructuring of rural credit is the foundation for consolidating financial services for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Through restructuring, it is expected to break down regional financial barriers and better optimize the allocation of financial resources. However, reform and restructuring do not mean that there are no challenges, especially in the context of large banks sinking into counties. Small and medium-sized banks should integrate resources, make up for their shortcomings, and expand the coverage of agricultural services as soon as possible. Xue Hongyan stated that after the integration and restructuring of small and medium-sized banks, they should accelerate their own transformation and upgrading. On the one hand, we will deeply cultivate local scenes, focus on government affairs, people's livelihoods, and industrial fields, and build regional competitive barriers; On the other hand, leveraging external ecosystems and collaborating with fintech companies to access government data platforms. At the same time, building an agile organizational structure, significantly reducing decision-making cycles, and implementing precise technology strategies. In terms of service mode, we focus on the integration of online and offline, deploy mobile devices while leveraging the advantages of our branches, and strive to build a digital financial ecosystem for the industrial chain, enabling core enterprises to empower upstream and downstream. (New Society)