Banks shift tech finance from 'tree-planting' to 'forest-cultivation': industry calls for breaking barriers and differentiated competition

As the top priority among the “five major articles” proposed at the Central Financial Work Conference, sci-tech finance bears the critical mission of supporting innovation-driven development and nurturing new productive forces. At the pivotal juncture of the start of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, as China’s industrial structure accelerates its upgrade to higher levels, the model by which financial institutions serve sci-tech enterprises is undergoing a profound transformation.

In recent years, financial institutions have focused largely on credit allocation to individual sci-tech projects or single enterprises—akin to “planting trees” in the wilderness. Today, however, faced with the complex and ever-changing financial needs of tech enterprises across their full life cycles, the industry must shift toward systematic deployment and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This marks an evolution from “tree planting” to “forest cultivation”—building a vibrant sci-tech finance ecosystem.

At the 2026 Financial Institutions Annual Conference and Banking Annual Conference, hosted by Securities Times, a roundtable discussion titled “From ‘Planting Trees’ to ‘Cultivating Forests’: Writing the First Major Article” resonated deeply with the industry. Moderated by Wang Jian, Assistant Director of the Institute of Economics at Guoxin Securities, the panel brought together Fan Yu, Deputy General Manager of the Sci-Tech Finance Department at China Merchants Bank; Song Longfeng, Deputy General Manager of the Sci-Tech Finance Department at SPD Bank; and Wang Wei, Deputy General Manager of the Inclusive Finance Department at Ping An Bank. They engaged in an in-depth discussion on the underlying logic, organizational coordination, and industry competition in sci-tech finance.

Reshaping the Logic: Crossing the Cognitive Threshold of Sci-Tech Finance

The shift from “planting trees” to “cultivating forests” is not merely an expansion of service scale—it represents a fundamental change in underlying logic. According to the panelists, this marks the official transition of banking sci-tech finance from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0.

“The move from 1.0 to 2.0 is a shift from doing business to building an ecosystem. The most visible change is in the target and method of service,” said Wang Wei. In the past, banks focused on individual enterprises. Today, they must serve not only the enterprise but also its founders and the broader industrial ecosystem. Service methods must also expand from pure lending to comprehensive, full-life-cycle offerings including settlement and investment.

However, this transition is no easy task. It poses unprecedented challenges to bankers’ industrial insight.

Fan Yu noted that the first hurdle banks must overcome is the “cognitive threshold.” Traditional bank lending relies heavily on balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and collateral. But modern sci-tech enterprises—especially those in fast-iterating fields—are often asset-light and loss-making in their early stages.

“Take innovative drug companies in the biopharmaceutical sector. Their pipelines may only be in Phase I or II clinical trials, with zero net profit or revenue. How does a bank assess their financing value?” Fan emphasized that the greatest challenge is shifting evaluation criteria from “looking at the three financial statements” to “assessing technology, market赛道, and competitiveness.” Traditional yardsticks cannot be used to measure modern tech enterprises.

Beyond the cognitive threshold, restructuring risk mechanisms and coordination models is equally critical. Song Longfeng argued that the core underlying issue in moving from “tree planting” to “forest cultivation” is coordination. In the past two years, banks have focused on single-point “tree planting.” Now that the trees have grown into a forest, internal and external ecological barriers must be broken down.

Fan Yu agreed, pointing out that the transition requires breaking down “information silos” among venture capital, industrial parks, government agencies, and securities firms, transforming them into tightly connected “information links.” It also requires the joint participation of government funds and guarantee institutions, leveraging the entire ecosystem to nurture sci-tech enterprises.

Breaking Down Barriers: Building an Internal and External Collaborative Ecosystem

To truly shift from “individual combat” to “ecosystem collaboration,” commercial banks must make substantive changes to their organizational mechanisms. In recent years, several banks have established first-level specialized departments for sci-tech finance, aiming to break down silos from the top down and reshape internal production relations.

On internal mechanisms, both China Merchants Bank and SPD Bank shared their practical experience in restructuring. Fan Yu introduced that CMB has established a “big sci-tech” concept, forming a cross-departmental “Tech+” working group at the bank-wide level. Corporate banking, investment banking, industrial research, risk control, and subsidiaries work together to achieve “one bank, one strategy.”

SPD Bank also optimized its organizational structure. Song Longfeng noted that in early 2024, SPD Bank established a headquarters-level Sci-Tech Finance Department and set up a dedicated task force at the group level to drive innovation in products, models, organizational structure, and service systems.

“Through this model, SPD Bank has connected the frontline insights of sci-tech sub-branches, the M&A capabilities of investment banking, and the wealth management of private banking, achieving integrated, relay-style service across the group,” Song said.

In terms of external ecosystem linkages, each bank has developed differentiated approaches.

Song summarized SPD Bank’s model as “commercial banking + investment banking + ecosystem,” covering equity, debt, loans, insurance, leasing, incubation, matchmaking, and alliances. “SPD Bank has launched the ‘Sci-Tech Living Room’ as a regular industry-finance ecosystem brand, hosting 2,000 events reaching over 100,000 enterprises. We have also developed tailored service plans for four core partners: government, universities, industrial parks, and venture capital.”

To support frontline staff, SPD Bank has introduced a digital tool called the “Five Radars,” covering technology, industry, policy, parks, and funds, helping ecosystem partners and client managers accurately assess enterprise value.

Ping An Bank, meanwhile, has made technology empowerment a key breakthrough in serving small and micro sci-tech enterprises. Wang Wei said that under its “Six Strategies in One” framework—integrating clients, products, policies, channels, and risk—Ping An has deployed a “1+12+N” organizational structure. For early-stage, asset-light tech enterprises, Ping An has introduced intellectual property scoring and expert evaluation mechanisms in product design, and uses AI-powered assistants to provide fast, low-cost financing channels for small and micro tech firms.

Breaking Out of the Rat Race: Toward Differentiation and Relay-Style Coexistence

As more financial institutions enter the sci-tech finance赛道, concerns are rising over homogeneous competition and credit price wars. From the perspective of “forest cultivation,” how can the industry avoid involution and achieve sustainable development?

“The biggest pain point is whether our frontline staff can truly understand what these little-known ‘hidden champions’ are doing,” Wang Wei said bluntly. To escape pure price competition, bank client managers must transform into “tech industry experts” who can genuinely assess the value of technology. At the same time, Ping An Bank leverages its group’s comprehensive financial advantages to provide full-life-cycle services, including investment-loan linkage, replacing single low-price credit competition with deep, professional, integrated services.

Fan Yu offered a broader ecological perspective on interbank competition: “What we most hope to see among banks is an avoidance of ‘involution-style’ competition. We hope each bank can leverage its own resource endowments to carve out a differentiated path in serving tech enterprises.”

He noted that different banks have different strengths. Some excel in serving industry chain leaders, while others are better at serving small and micro enterprises. Using CMB as an example, he said the bank has 230 million retail customers and a strong retail service foundation, enabling it to provide public-private coordinated support for tech enterprises.

Beyond interbank relations, banks and venture capital firms are also “relay-style partners.” Fan Yu said that VC/PE firms and banks complement each other, with equity capital and bank credit providing diversified, relay-style financing paths for tech enterprises.

Song Longfeng further called for ecosystem coordination to move from “alliance initiatives” to “institutionalized mechanisms.” He suggested that the industry jointly build evaluation standards so that the “soft power” of tech enterprises can be universally converted into “hard credit” across the industry. At the same time, underlying data should be shared—within compliance boundaries—so that the data foundation becomes a public infrastructure for the sci-tech finance ecosystem.

Conclusion: The Best Time to Plant a Tree Was Ten Years Ago; the Best Way to Cultivate a Forest Is Together

“The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago. The next best time is now. And the best way to cultivate a forest is to do it together,” Song Longfeng said at the end of the roundtable, capturing the shared sentiment of all participants.

“Sci-tech finance is a strategic priority for the country during the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ period. Planting trees and cultivating forests are not choices—they are mandatory tasks. A single tree cannot make a forest. Cultivating the forest is our ultimate goal,” Fan Yu added.

Wang Wei also expressed hope that, against the backdrop of national strategy, policy subsidies, and risk compensation, all sectors could work together to turn small forests into a vast woodland.

From single-point “tree planting” to ecosystem “forest cultivation,” there is no shortcut in the evolution of sci-tech finance. Only by breaking down barriers, deepening collaboration, and adhering to a long-term perspective can financial institutions, amid this monumental shift in新旧动能转换, jointly nurture a thriving Chinese sci-tech “great forest.”