Love for the poor

• Source: Global Times
• [22:14 November 05 2009]
• Comments

"We had competition with the Agricultural Bank of China, who was then the supervisor of the RCC. But the RCC assumed the sole responsibility for its profits and losses," he said.

"We opened earlier than the Agricultural Bank and closed later. We were more convenient for the farmers." However, many farmers did not really understand what the RCC did, thinking it was simply a government department, they did not realize that they could also deposit money there. Shi heard that Wu Shaocai, 59, a descendant of a landlord in the village of Daha, was affluent.

"I wanted to encourage him to deposit his money in our RCC. But I couldn't say that directly. So I went to his home to make friends with him," Shi said.

Shi visited Wu twice, telling him that the village was suitable for raising black goats. The RCC could offer him loans. Leaving a good impression, Wu invited him to have a drink.

"Farmers believe you are a good friend after you drink liquor with them," Shi added.

Trusting Shi, Wu revealed a hidden pile of old bank notes and invested them in the RCC, there was a total of 3,000 yuan ($441). He also showed Shi a chest of old silver coins that he then sold on the collectables market on Shi's advice, bringing his deposit to more than 100,000 yuan ($14,705). The Asian financial crisis in 1997 saw many banks leave the countryside, leaving RCCs to fill the void.

"I felt rapid development after 2000," Shi said, then promoted to director of Houchang's RCC, the largest in the county. Deposits reached 2 million yuan ($294,000) that year and 10 million yuan ($1.47 million) in 2004. Assigned to Zongdi's RCC in 2006, Shi visited 6,000 families in 22 villages over two years, often on foot. He found that many villagers were worried about the condition of their homes, so he secured 6,000 yuan ($879) for each family from a government fund, he also approved a 30,000 yuan ($4,411) loan for each family to help them build new houses closer to the road.

"People will think about making money only when their living conditions are improved. I was not afraid of the risk because the loans were used to build houses, which will rise in value," Shi explained. Shi's repayment rate of loans is 98 percent.

"I can tell whether a person can repay the loan after I talk to him several times. As long as he has the capability, ideas and actions, I will have confidence in him," Shi said.