Shanghai Tech Bank Branches: 320 New Firms Daily, Hangzhou Bank Loans Top RMB 120 Billion

On Shanghai's high ground of technological innovation, tech sub-branches are becoming key levers for tech finance. Recently, several banks' tech sub-branches have attempted to clear bottlenecks in 'early-stage and small-scale investment' through specialized mechanisms, professional identification, and ecosystem-based services, better serving the three leading industries and the development of new productive forces. The Agricultural Bank of China Xuhui Tech Sub-branch was officially inaugurated at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, transforming from a comprehensive sub-branch into a dedicated tech sub-branch, with its business positioning shifting from 'broad coverage and comprehensive services' to 'deep cultivation of tech innovation, serving industry, and empowering innovation.'

Tech sub-branches differ markedly from traditional sub-branches in business structure. Wang Yankai, president of Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank's Caohejing Development Zone Tech Sub-branch, said the sub-branch does not engage in traditional corporate business backed by large real estate mortgages; all staff focus solely on tech finance, with tech loans accounting for over 90% of all loans. Since being included in Shanghai's first batch of specialized tech finance institutions, the sub-branch has served more than 140 tech innovation enterprises. Wang Bin, president of Hangzhou Bank's Shanghai Zhangjiang Sub-branch, said the sub-branch's corporate business insists on 100% service to tech enterprises, does not conduct traditional real estate development loans or government platform projects, and even proactively avoids high-yield non-tech business.

In credit assessment logic, tech sub-branches are shifting from 'looking at the past' to 'looking at the future.' Tech enterprises typically have light assets, high investment, long cycles, and lack traditional collateral, so banks need to move beyond traditional credit thinking. Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank has established a 'five-fold evaluation, three-dimensional model' that comprehensively assesses team strength, core technology, and order resources. Hangzhou Bank focuses on frontier industries, technology paths, and founding team backgrounds, and has set up a specialized tech innovation approval center, forming expert groups by sub-sector, implementing a model of 'risk management moved forward, credit approval stationed.' Currently, many approval authorities can be completed at the sub-branch level without layer-by-layer reporting.

Tech sub-branches no longer rely on waiting at branches for customers; instead, they seek ecological niches along the industry map. Hangzhou Bank builds an ecosystem around venture capital institutions, relying on about 700 private equity fund managers under its custody. When enterprises open equity financing, it organizes investor groups to conduct due diligence. As of the end of 2025, Hangzhou Bank served more than 30,000 tech innovation enterprises, with tech loan balances exceeding RMB 120 billion, custody scale for tech innovation private equity funds exceeding RMB 200 billion, and having cultivated more than 500 companies to achieve listing.

To address the high risk of early-stage enterprises, several tech sub-branches have established risk-sharing mechanisms, with government guarantee companies at various levels and banks each bearing a portion of the risk, effectively diversifying it. At the same time, many tech sub-branches have set up separate risk tolerance policies, with generally higher tolerance for non-performing loan ratios than traditional sub-branches, and have implemented due diligence exemption for frontline staff. Feedback from the front line also indicates that high-quality tech enterprises often do not lack loan funds; some specialized and innovative enterprises have been granted concentrated credit by multiple banks, which instead plants the hidden danger of over-financing. Tech sub-branches value quality over quantity; the key is not how many signs are hung, but whether there are people who truly 'understand the industry.'