The Bank of Jinzhou is courting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to serve a customer base often ignored by larger banks.

It's a win-win for the bank in gaining new business and for the smaller companies that can be more vulnerable to the global financial crisis, bank officials said.

"Most of the enterprises in Jinzhou are small and medium-sized ones. The focus of our banks is to support those SMEs, especially during the crisis," said Bank of Jinzhou Vice-President Xia Zhenjie.

"Another reason is to avoid direct competition with State-owned commercial banks mainly responsible for big enterprises and projects," Xia said.

Bank of Jinzhou is a regional commercial bank in Jinzhou, a city in southwestern Liaoning province.

Originally called Jinzhou Commercial Bank, the bank changed its name in 2008.

SMEs and solo entrepreneurs now account for 4,000 of the bank's clients.

Loans granted by the bank totaled 20.3 billion yuan at the end of 2008.

Of those loans, Xia said 15.1 billion yuan, or 74 percent, were made to the 4,000 smaller clients in 2008.

The timing is proving critical to help SMEs remain open for business.

According to a recent Bank of Jinzhou survey, 20 percent to 30 percent of the city's SMEs either have stopped or dramatically slowed production since 2008.

"The minimal percentage of the loans to SMEs should stay above 70 percent of the total. It may rise to 80 percent and even higher in the future," Xia said.

Already, this year's loans have exceeded last year's numbers.

Loans to SMEs totaled 16.4 billion yuan through April, a 9 percent year-on-year increase, said Yang Zhaojie, director of the bank's risk management department.

To help SMEs survive the ongoing financial crisis, the bank offers special rates to SMEs with good credit records.

For these customers, the interest charged on loans is 10 percent lower than that charged by other commercial banks in the city.

"The SMEs grow, and our bank grows, as well," Xia said.

Plus, the bank faces minimal risks, he said.

"Until now, there is not a single case of bad debt in our project," Xia said.

Bank of Jinzhou began its initiative to serve more SMEs in 2007. The bank's goal was to fund 100 SMEs, 1,000 stores run by individuals and 10,000 laid-off workers.

So far, the numbers served have exceeded that ambitious goal, Xia said.

Customer service extends beyond loans.

Xia said the bank encourages employees to purchase flowers for shops opened by formerly unemployed workers to help them celebrate a new business start.

Since April, the bank also has been sending bank employees to SMEs to offer information about loans and money management vehicles. Bank of Jinzhou has 132 branches, of which 62 are located outside Jinzhou.

"To grow more, our bank will continue to expand our network," Xia said.

A new branch will open in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning province, in October. Other applications are pending for future branches in Chongqing and Qingdao.

Xia said his bank wants to open its first branch in Beijing in 2010.

In addition, Xia said the bank plans to be listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen exchange in 2010.

"No matter what changes happen to the Bank of Jinzhou in the future, one thing will never change. That is our focus on SMEs," Xia said.