China Established Its First Micro Finance Industry Group in 2005 中国成立第一个小额信贷机构的全国性行业组织

Contrary to my own mis-perception, China has a long history of micro finance. As this previous article documents, micro finance (小额信贷) in rural area was first introduced to China in the early 1990s. Ever since then, there is constant pressure on the government to liberalize its policies on rural credit unions and banks.

This article here provides another sign of a growing industry: as early as 2005, China established the first MF industry group 中国小额信贷发展促进会. Although the effort was led by the Commerce Ministry, the advocates of this group clearly think that in order for MF industry to grow, the government has to loosen its regulations.

目前中国的农村小额信贷规模共计2200多亿元人民币，主要由半官半民性质的小额信贷机构、农业和农村合作社三部分组成。

目前民间小额信贷机构控制的约10亿元规模中，不同地区的机构之间，经营业绩和命运相差悬殊：既有贷款收回率100%的，也有不到10%的，更有不仅贷款收不回、机构最终也关门大吉的。

“造成这种现状的原因很多，但一个共同的现象是，与当地政府的干预程度成反比。即干预程度越大，经营效果越差。”

目前小额信贷的发展，面临“政策瓶颈”。...

目前，浙江等地区的一些民间资本和城市资本，频频向小额信贷机构表示参与意愿。但按照目前政策规定，这种参与方式显然属于非法金融。