The relevant person in charge of Online Commercial Bank stated that as a transitional company before the establishment of Online Commercial Bank, Alibaba Small Loan has no actual business operations in recent years, so the cancellation of the company has no substantial impact
Reporter Li Bing from this newspaper
Recently, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System showed that Zhejiang Alibaba Small Loan Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Alibaba Small Loan") has released liquidation group filing information and creditor announcements, indicating that the company has entered the liquidation and cancellation process.
The relevant person in charge of Online Commercial Bank responded to Securities Daily reporters, saying, "As a transitional company before the establishment of Online Commercial Bank, Alibaba Small Loan has no actual business operations in recent years, so the cancellation of the company has no substantial impact."
Public information shows that Alibaba Small Loan was established in March 2010 and obtained China's first business license specifically for providing small loans to e-commerce merchants. At that time, the business license of Alibaba Small Loan was issued by the Hangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the company was established by Alibaba Group in collaboration with external shareholders.
According to public information, one of the shareholders of the online commercial bank is Ant Group, with a registered capital of approximately 6.5 billion yuan. Its business scope includes handling various loan and wealth management banking businesses nationwide, and its main service targets are small and micro enterprises and individual businesses. As of the end of 2022, more than 50 million small and micro business owners have used the digital credit services of online commercial banks.
It is understood that Alibaba Xiaodai was the predecessor of online commercial banks. After sorting out, Alibaba Small Loan was established in March 2010; In June 2015, Online Commercial Bank was established to undertake Alibaba's small loan business; In November 2022, Alibaba Small Loan had no actual operational business and was approved by regulatory authorities to withdraw from the pilot program; In February 2024, Alibaba Small Loan announced its cancellation.
"The small loan company that initially solved the problem of difficult loans for small and medium-sized e-commerce sellers has completed its mission, so it has exited the historical stage and will enter the liquidation and closing stage according to the process. Its business has been taken over by the online commercial bank," said the relevant person in charge of the online commercial bank.
Su Xiaorui, a senior analyst in the financial industry of Analysys Analytics, told the Securities Daily that "in recent years, the reshuffle of the small loan industry has continued to intensify. On the one hand, the Internet giant has straightened out its business, and Ali small loan is a typical epitome of it; on the other hand, institutions with unclear development paths have gradually withdrawn from the market."
In fact, since the end of last year, there have been constant news of adjustments in the small loan industry. From a policy perspective, policies such as the Beijing Small Loan Company Supervision and Management Measures and the Tianjin Small Loan Company Supervision and Management Measures have been successively released. From an institutional perspective, actions such as capital increase, shareholder change, and license cancellation are frequent.
As one of the shareholders of online commercial banks, Ant Group is "liquidating" small loan institutions. At the end of 2023, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System showed that Chongqing Ant Small and Micro Loan Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Ant Small and Micro Loan") was renamed as Chongqing Ant Small and Micro Information Technology Co., Ltd. Its business scope no longer includes loan business.
In June 2023, Chongqing Ant Shangcheng Small Loan Co., Ltd. was renamed as Chongqing Ant Shangcheng Information Technology Co., Ltd. Its business scope was also removed from "handling various loans, bill discounting, and asset transfer businesses nationwide.". The change in the business scope of the above-mentioned enterprises means that the two small loan institutions under Ant Group are no longer engaged in small loan business.
At that time, the relevant person in charge of Ant Group responded to a reporter from Securities Daily, "After the exit of Ant Small and Micro Loan Company, it will maintain the continuity of existing business and ensure that user service experience is not affected. According to the overall arrangement of Ant Group's consumer finance business, Ant Consumer Finance will undertake consumer credit business that meets regulatory requirements in the small loan company."
Throughout the industry, the balance scale of small loan companies is continuously decreasing. According to the statistics report on small loan companies released by the central bank in 2023. As of the end of December 2023, there were a total of 5500 small loan companies in China. The loan balance was 762.9 billion yuan, a decrease of 147.8 billion yuan for the whole year.
"At present, the adjustment of small loan institutions mainly involves capital increase, shareholder adjustment, and cancellation, which is a reflection of the industry's still in a period of reshuffling and a microcosm of the industry under strict supervision." Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst in the financial industry at Broadcom Analytics, believed in an interview with Securities Daily that strict supervision will promote the small loan industry to move towards high-quality development.
"At present, the small loan industry is in a period of reshuffle. On the one hand, small loan companies with low competitiveness have successively transferred their equity and cancelled; on the other hand, some of the leading small loan companies under the Internet giants have continued to increase their capital and broaden their financing channels." Su Xiaorui predicts that the small loan industry will continue to develop in a differentiated way in 2024. Against the backdrop of AI technology deepening and regulatory compliance tightening, Small loan institutions with technological innovation capabilities and strong customer expansion and operation capabilities, while firmly controlling compliance bottom lines, are expected to stand out.