Since December, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing have ramped up efforts to implement the fiscal interest subsidy policy for personal consumer loans. These three regions have sequentially unveiled provincial-level guidelines for executing interest subsidies. At the same time, leading regional city commercial banks and rural commercial banks, including the Bank of Guiyang, Bank of Guizhou, Bank of Chengdu, and Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, have begun accepting applications. This development signifies the formal entry of regional banks, previously excluded from the 'national subsidy' framework, into the consumer loan subsidy market, thereby establishing a collaborative model of 'national subsidy + local subsidy'.

In August of this year, the state rolled out a fiscal interest subsidy policy for personal consumer loans, designating six large state-owned banks and 12 national joint-stock banks as the operators of the 'national subsidy'. However, city commercial banks and rural commercial banks were left out of this arrangement. The 'local subsidy' policies introduced in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing have effectively bridged this gap. These policies set an annual interest subsidy rate of 1 percentage point, capped at no more than 50% of the loan contract interest rate, and feature differentiated provisions in key areas such as subsidy limits, implementation periods, and coverage scopes.

For instance, Sichuan's interest subsidy policy will be in effect from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Personal consumer loans obtained by individual customers through Sichuan-based branches of the Bank of Chengdu and Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank are eligible for interest subsidy support, provided the funds are used for consumption within Sichuan Province. The subsidy covers transactions under 50,000 yuan and extends to key consumption areas like automobiles, education, and healthcare for transactions exceeding 50,000 yuan, with a cumulative subsidy limit of 1,500 yuan per individual.

Guizhou's interest subsidy policy, set to take effect from December 1, 2025, raises the subsidy cap, offering a maximum cumulative subsidy of 3,000 yuan for households with cumulative consumption reaching 300,000 yuan. Meanwhile, Chongqing announced on December 3 that it would provide fiscal interest subsidies for personal consumer loans. The local consumer loan interest subsidy policy serves as a complement to the national policy and, when combined with the 'national subsidy', is expected to further stimulate consumption. It is anticipated that other provinces will follow suit and introduce their own versions of consumer loan interest subsidy policies.

Such policies are poised to effectively reduce residents' consumer credit costs, directly boost local consumption, and keep the local fiscal burden relatively manageable. For regional banks, these policies have brought about significant positive impacts, injecting fresh momentum into the growth of their consumer loan businesses. Nevertheless, regional banks also confront challenges in areas such as customer base expansion, risk control technology, and product innovation capabilities.