Di Yi Cai Jing·2026-01-12 14:14Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the news is that the Bank of Communications has been approved to acquire a rural bank and convert it into a branch, marking the first case of a state-owned bank's "village to branch" transformation in the new year and the tenth case since last year [1][2] - The approval from the Zhejiang Regulatory Bureau allows the Bank of Communications to acquire the Anji Jiaoyin Rural Bank and establish multiple branches, taking over its assets, liabilities, and employees [2][3] - The Bank of Communications currently controls four rural banks, with recent acquisitions including the Dayi Jiaoyin Xingmin Rural Bank and the Qingdao Laoshan Jiaoyin Rural Bank, indicating a trend of consolidation among state-owned banks [3] Group 2 - The reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions is accelerating, with over 450 small banks expected to exit the market by 2025, including more than 280 rural banks, particularly in regions like Inner Mongolia, Shandong, and Hubei [1][4][5] - In the first half of 2025, there has been a significant increase in the number of rural banks approved for mergers, dissolutions, or cancellations, with 65 cases reported in just half a month, nearing ten times the number from the same period in 2024 [4][5] - The restructuring of rural banks is part of a broader strategy to optimize the financial institution system, focusing on quality improvement rather than just reduction, as emphasized by industry experts [5]