May 12, 2009 is the anniversary of Wenchuan Earthquake. Over the past year, facing the huge disaster caused by earthquake, ICBC, with a strong sense of social responsibility, has devoted itself to post-earthquake relief and reconstruction. ICBC is not only the first bank to resume business, but also has raised the most funds and provided the best services for the disaster area.
In the post-disaster construction, ICBC has continued the spirit of "Fighting the Earthquake, Bringing Relief to People Suffering Disasters". As a large bank, ICBC takes the initiative to shoulder heavy tasks, to take on social responsibilities, and has fulfilled its role as a large state-owned commercial bank in providing financial services and support for the reconstruction.
Financial Services at the Disaster Area has been Restored to the Pre-earthquake Level
On the day Wenchuan Earthquake broke out, among the 648 banking outlets of ICBC in Sichuan, 246 were damaged, 52 were nearly destroyed. At this critical moment, what first came to ICBC people's mind was that ICBC's financial services cannot be stopped. While accommodating the employees affected by the earthquake, ICBC immediately arranged to resume its services.
Not hesitant to innovate its service pattern, ICBC organized its employees to set up tent banks, mobile banks and board room banks. Due to their efforts, ICBC's outlets in Sichuan had all restarted their services within one month after the earthquake.
When it moved from the earthquake relief phase to the post-earthquake reconstruction phase, ICBC, considering the specific financial demands of the disaster area, provided a great many self-service appliances including ATM and POS to meet their urgent need. Meanwhile, ICBC strengthened its connection with governments at different levels, so as to include the construction of permanent outlets into the reconstruction plan for the disaster area, greatly facilitating the reconstruction, renovation, and move of the damaged outlets and their resumption of business.
On April 28, 2009, the Dongmen Banking Office, Mianzhu Branch in Deyang, which had been seriously hit by Wenchuan Earthquake, ended being a board room bank after a whole year, and restarted operation on its previous site. Up to then, ICBC had renovated and reconstruction 27 banking outlets, and moved 2 banking outlets.
Apart from that, ICBC has supplied Sichuan outlets with a total of 328 ATMs, 228 Internet banking self-service machines and 3487 POSes, restoring the financial services at the disaster area to its pre-earthquake level.
While facilitating the resumption of operation at the damaged outlets, ICBC also constructed new branch offices in Beichuan County and Qingchuan County which were affected by the earthquake most badly. In constructing these offices, ICBC stuck to the principle of "paying special efforts for special matters", greatly accelerating the construction.
The Qingchuan branch of ICBC in Zhuyuan, Qingchuan County established on February 10, 2009 was called as "the outlet set up in seven days during the Spring Festival", for on the first working day after the Spring Festival, neighboring banks were all surprised by the fact that a new outlet, still nonexistent before the festival, was operating now! In Beichuan County of Sichuan, which was hit by the earthquake most seriously, ICBC upgraded the Anchang Road Banking Office into Beichuan Branch and started business on July 17, 2008.
With the sense of responsibility to support the construction of a new Beichuan and uninterrupted, faithful services, ICBC implemented fully it solemn commitment to "Be Together with the People at the Disaster Area ".
ICBC Enhances Loan-granting to Support Post-earthquake Reconstruction
After Wenchuan Earthquake, to meet the fund needs of enterprises involved in disaster relief, ICBC promptly launched the special loan processes against emergencies and the "Green channel" for granting disaster relief loans, adopting special measures to providing financial support to enterprises in the sectors of electricity, communication, road traffic and railway.
On the third day after the earthquake, ICBC gave a RMB 389 million credit line to enterprises in the sectors of electricity, road traffic and pharmacy. After the enactment of "Program of Counterpart Support in Post-disaster Reconstruction after Wenchuan Earthquake" by the State Council on June 11, 2008, ICBC took the initiative to contact local governments to establish liaison mechanism; at the same time, ICBC took its group advantage and connected the Sichuan branches with their counterparts in other 19 provinces such as Guangdong and Jiangsu, using syndicated loan as the main way to provide "one-stop" financial services to the unites at the disaster area, which included account opening, settlement and financing.
By the end of April, 2009, ICBC had granted a total of RMB 39.081 billion loan for after-earthquake relief and reconstruction, making the financial institution which has lent the largest amount of loan in reconstruction.
At the same time, by carefully analyzing the post-disaster circumstances, ICBC actively provided financial support to key projects and qualified enterprises which are in line with the national industrial policies, increasing credit line to Sichuan enterprises in the sectors of traffic, electricity, construction, petrochemistry, telecommunication, heavy appliance production, especially the most important power clients such as Ertan Hydropower Station, State Power Group and Huadian Power Group, and the key traffic enterprises such as Sichuan High-way, Chengdu High-way, Airport Group, the Second Board of China Railway.
In addition, ICBC used its products and services fully to meet the needs of Sichuan's key enterprises, including East Gas and Changhong, for liquidity loan.
To promote financial services to support the reconstruction, ICBC signed the financial strategic cooperation agreement with the principal government of Sichuan on March 3, 2009, agreeing to cooperate in such areas as traffic, power, construction, and development of small and medium-sized enterprises and to provide comprehensive financial support. At present, the cooperative strategy has already been implemented. In Mianyang, ICBC had lent RMB 925 million to seven key post-disaster reconstruction projects, and granted RMB 280 million housing loan to 2230 households in the first quarter. In Dujiangyan, ICBC gave RMB 3.0 billion credit line to housing reconstruction programs on April 26, 2009, which will benefit more than 20 thousand households. Apart from that, ICBC's Sichuan branch also signed strategic cooperation agreements with local governments and large-scale infrastructure enterprises, for example, Leshan government, Siyuan Development Co., Siyuan Railway Industry Investment Group, confirming its intent to provide loan support for post-disaster reconstruction projects.
ICBC Gives Generous Help to the Needed, Fulfilling its Responsibility as a Large Bank
After Wenchuan Earthquake, ICBC encouraged its employees to offer love and help to the people having suffered the disaster. Fundraising activities of an unprecedented large scale were carried out. According to statistics, ICBC has contributed a total of RMB 140 million to the disaster area, among which employees at both domestic and overseas branches donated nearly RMB 90 million, party members submitted RMB 53.
05 million special party fee, league members submitted RMB 1.84 million special league fee. ICBC becomes the financial institution which has given the most fund donation in the post-earthquake relief and reconstruction. At the same time, ICBC opened free e-banking channels, such as Internet banking and mobile banking, exclusively for transferring donation at the first time, encouraged and guided clients to contribute through the channels, and ensured that all donations can be delivered promptly and safely.
In the two month after the earthquake, ICBC had transferred more than 200 thousand donations to 175 charitable organizations across China, the volume of donations reaching RMB 72 million. Apart from cash donation, ICBC also organized in-kind donation and volunteer services. On the morning of May 13, 2008, the Sichuan branch of ICBC set up disaster relief centers at Dujiangyan, Deyuang, Shifang and Mianzhu, assigning over ten employees to send food, drinking water and other emergency relief goods.
On May 17, 2008, ICBC launched the relief program to directly help victims at the heavily hit areas, organizing forty members of the Labor Union and the Youths' League to form five "Youth Volunteer teams" to offer services. Employees of ICBC also actively donated blood at their local hospitals and the Red Cross stations.
Before May 1, 2009, Sichuan branch of ICBC organized over sixty volunteers to go to eight primary and secondary schools at Leigu, Beichuan County, Xianyang; Yong'an Anxian; Ziyan, Mianzhu City, Deyang; Cifeng, Pengzhou, Chengdu; and Malu, Qingchuan County, Guangyuan to deliver sixty thousand worth of books and stationeries to children at the disaster area, which had been donated by ICBC employees. They sent the care and love of ICBC people to the hearts of the people having suffered the earthquake.
Looking back on the past year, in earthquake relief and reconstruction, ICBC people have witnessed how tears are cast into a strong will, and how the will is turned into a great force. Looking into the future, ICBC will continue to take on its social responsibilities, endeavor to provide better financial services for the disaster area, and to offer a strong support to the reconstruction and social and economical development of Sichuan.
