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CBRC's village banks pledge

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the nation's top banking regulator, pledged on Wednesday to make it easier for qualified companies to establish village banks throughout the country, particularly in the less-developed western regions.

Since the country launched a pilot program in 2006, there were 536 village banks as of the end of May, with combined loans of 87 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) and deposits of 101 billion yuan, said the CBRC.