OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2011. As related by ICBC Guangdong Branch earlier, the total amount of small business loans outstanding rose 21.35% from early 2011, or RMB 12.443 billion, to over RMB 70 billion at the end of June, 2011, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

This represented another historic high against the same period and 16.20 percentage points higher than the growth of all other loans in Guangdong Branch. The Branch serves more than 8000 small business customers. Further, in Foshan Branch under ICBC Guangdong branch, small business loans outstanding and number of small business customers broke through "RMB 10 billion in loans to 1000 SMEs". Foshan Branch is the first "Yardstick Branch" under ICBC Guangdong by extending over RMB 10 billion in loans to 1000 small enterprises. This marks a new chapter of ICBC Guangdong Branch in lending to small enterprises.

ICBC Guangdong Branch embraces innovation to provide financial services and products to small enterprises in recent years, said an executive with the Branch. Besides loan, Guangdong Branch scales up its integrated financial services to small enterprises by offering an array of services including settlement, electronic banking, cash management, investment banking and bank card.