China's Financial Regulatory Administration chief lawyer and director of the
Legal Affairs Department Wang Shengbang told the Caixin Summit on Nov. 13 that
consolidation of small and medium-sized banks is a global trend. He cited US
bank legal entities falling from ~12,300 in 1990 to ~3,800 in 2025 (≈69%
decline) and Germany's from ~4,500 to ~1,300 (>71% decline). Wang said last
year's Central Economic Work Conference directed a reduction in the number of
small financial institutions under the principle of "reduce legal entities, not
services," using market-based, law-based measures — including absorptions,
mergers and restructurings — to lower small-bank legal-entity counts, strengthen
banking-system resilience and improve the quality and sustainability of
financial supply.
