Four Sichuan Banks Set Up Joint Wealth Management Company, Preparations Underway

The special working group has been formally established recently, led by Sichuan Rural Commercial United Bank. Together with Sichuan Bank, Chengdu Bank, and Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, it has fully launched preparatory work for the establishment of a bank wealth management company. All four institutions have seconded core business personnel from their wealth management lines to work on the project. Specific tasks such as site selection, system design, and drafting of application materials are being carried out in parallel. If ultimately approved, the proposed institution would become the first domestic wealth management subsidiary jointly funded by multiple city commercial banks and rural commercial banks, filling the gap of Sichuan Province lacking a local licensed wealth management company.

As of the end of 2025, the total assets of the province's rural commercial banks reached RMB 2.6 trillion, with loans of RMB 1.3 trillion and deposits of RMB 2.2 trillion, and average annual profits of over RMB 10 billion in the past three years. This scale provides a capital and customer base for the new wealth management company. Since the approval of Zheyin Wealth Management's preparation in December 2023, this application is the first bank wealth management company project to enter the substantive operation stage.

The motive for the joint application stems from regulatory rules and market demand. According to the Measures for the Administration of Wealth Management Subsidiaries of Commercial Banks, a wealth management subsidiary should be initiated and established by a commercial bank as the controlling shareholder, with a minimum registered capital of RMB 1 billion that must be paid in full at one time. It must also meet conditions such as having a dedicated wealth management business division in continuous operation for more than three years and being profitable for the last three fiscal years. For individual small and medium banks, the compliance costs and capital pressure of independent application are significant. As of the end of June 2026, the total outstanding scale of proprietary wealth management of 54 small and medium banks that have not established wealth management companies was approximately RMB 1.05 trillion, a decrease of 5.09% from the end of 2025, with city commercial banks down 6.39% and rural commercial banks down 2.00%. The four banks are simultaneously developing wealth management distribution business to cope with changes in proprietary business scale.

The joint application also faces structural challenges. In terms of governance structure, according to regulations, the controlling shareholder must undertake not to transfer its equity within five years, and the number of wealth management subsidiaries in which the same investor and its affiliates hold stakes must not exceed two, or hold controlling stakes in more than one. Equity allocation and board seat arrangements have yet to be negotiated. The unification of investment philosophy and risk control standards is also a difficulty, as the four banks have different customer structures and risk preferences. The transfer of existing business involves compliance actions such as regulatory filing and system migration, and the preparation period is six months from the date of approval. Against the backdrop of the industry facing the rectification and reduction of existing proprietary wealth management business by the end of 2026, the handling of the demarcation between old and new business will directly affect the progress of the application and subsequent operational stability.