Hua Xia Shi Bao·2025-07-04 23:50Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the article highlights the acceleration of structural restructuring in rural banks, with state-owned banks participating for the first time in the "village-to-branch" transformation [2][3] - The restructuring of rural banks is a crucial measure to mitigate risks in local small financial institutions, with over 60 rural banks expected to "disappear" by mid-2025 due to mergers and acquisitions [2][3] - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has become the first state-owned bank to acquire a rural bank, specifically the Chongqing Bishan Rural Bank, marking a significant case in the "village-to-branch" initiative [3] Group 2 - The majority of rural banks that have "disappeared" have transitioned into branches or sub-branches through mergers, primarily led by city commercial banks and rural commercial banks, with limited involvement from large state-owned banks [3][4] - The responsibility of the main initiating banks has been strengthened, with many banks increasing their shareholding in rural banks to achieve full ownership [5] - The current structural restructuring of rural banks mainly adopts four methods: absorption and merger into branches, merging geographically adjacent banks, direct dissolution, and increasing shareholding by the main initiating bank [6] Group 3 - Absorption and merger are considered the mainstream model for reforming rural banks, as they provide a more thorough risk mitigation approach, especially suitable for banks with poor asset quality [7] - Different banks have varying strategies for restructuring rural banks based on their development goals, network layout, and management capabilities, indicating that there is no one-size-fits-all approach [7]