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Simplified Procedures Heighten Education Loans
Poverty-stricken students have been heading for the banks to supplement their way of life, according to bank loan departments.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has seen a huge surge in educational loans since last year thanks to simplified procedures, which were launched in 1999 along with other State-owned commercial banks.
By the end of May, the bank had granted 302 million yuan (US$36.4 million) of State-subsidized educational loans, 109 million yuan (US$13.1 million) of local government-subsidized loans, and 29 million yuan (US$3.5 million) of commercial educational loans.
In total, 83,522 students in 148 universities nationwide were helped out by the State-subsidized loans, said ICBC Vice-President Zhang Furong last Friday at the National Educational Loan Conference.
So far, the bank has made up around half of the educational credit market, he said.
Application procedures have also been simplified, he said.
The ICBC will keep increasing the volume of its educational loans in the future, he added.
Sources with other State-owned commercial banks which also offer the service said their educational credit has also seen an increase since last year as people's credit awareness improved.
Source: China Daily
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