Zhejiang Tailong Commercial Bank

Zhejiang Tailong Commercial Bank (TLB) (Pinyin: Zhèjiāng Tàilóng Shāngyè Yínháng), one of several SME financing service leading providers, is headquartered in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, Eastern China. Since its inception, the bank has cumulatively provided over ¥150 billion (around $23 billion) loans with average loan size of ¥500,000 to its clientele, and over 90% of which are peasants-turned entrepreneurs. As its clientele often lacks the assets required by larger banks when applying for a loan, TLB grants and disburses loans secured through guarantors, which collateral form accounts for 99% of the total loans outstanding. In addition to that, the number of loan officers is almost half of the total staff, due to the labor-intensive nature of SME lending business. By the end of December 2011, TLB had eight branches, two village and town banks and 50 sub-branches which are mainly spread out around the Yangtze River Delta region.