Banking and insurance sectors helping boost local economy

Shanghai’s banking and insurance sector provided strong support and risk guarantees to facilitate healthy development of the local economy in 2020, according to the local regulator.

At the end of 2020, total assets of the banking and insurance industries were 19.2 trillion yuan (US$2.97 trillion) and 883.2 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 16.4 and 12.3 percent year on year, data from the Shanghai office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission indicates.

Compared with the beginning of 2020, the balance of various loans in the banking industry increased by 515.4 billion yuan by the year end, and the annual indemnity and payment expenditures of the insurance industry stood at 63.1 billion yuan, greatly supporting the development of the real economy.

A total of 13 targeted documents on financial support for the resumption of work and production have been issued over the past year.

By the end of last year a cumulative loan of 452.7 billion yuan was extended  for COVID-19 prevention and control.

Moreover, 250.8 billion yuan in principal and interest payments were temporarily postponed for small and medium-sized firms.

The insurance sector paid out more than 438 million yuan to over 2,000 companies affected by the pandemic.

Also, banks and insurance companies in Shanghai focused on safeguarding people's livelihoods by expanding financial services for small businesses, health-care organizations and the elderly.

The balance of inclusive loans to private firms within the city hit 525.4 billion yuan by the end of 2020, up 47 percent from the beginning of 2020 and the average interest rate was 1.46 percentage points lower than the year beginning to 5.17 percent.