Not avoiding, daring to rectify! Is Xinwang Bank redefining internet banking?

Ask AI · How can Xinwang Bank turn penalties into opportunities for compliance upgrades?

From early rough services to now refined operations, Xinwang Bank is customer-centric, filling service gaps and making digital finance warmer.

Produced by | Zhongfang.com

Reviewed by | Li Xiaoyan

As the first internet bank in the central and western regions and the third purely online private bank nationwide, Xinwang Bank has carried the mission of empowering inclusive finance through fintech since its inception. Recently, the bank received a penalty of 337k yuan from the central bank for three violations, once again drawing market attention to its compliance and development. Objectively speaking, Xinwang Bank is experiencing compliance growing pains after rapid expansion. Under multiple pressures such as regulatory standards, complaint management, performance recovery, and risk control upgrades, this digital pioneer of inclusive finance is problem-oriented, accelerating its transition from scale expansion to high-quality development, and consolidating long-term growth foundations through rectification.

This 337k yuan penalty involved three major areas: account management, financial technology, and credit information. Although the amount is small, it directly targets the core links of internet banking operations. This is not Xinwang Bank’s first regulatory warning; between 2021 and 2022, the bank received penalties totaling over 8 million yuan for issues such as anti-money laundering, credit reporting compliance, and post-loan management, exposing the shortcomings of compliance construction during its early rapid expansion.

But more noteworthy is that Xinwang Bank has always faced issues proactively and undertaken comprehensive rectification. Since 2024, the bank has launched a full-scale compliance upgrade: on one hand, restructuring the internal control system, adding dedicated compliance review positions, embedding compliance requirements into product development, data management, and full lifecycle account management, and establishing special review mechanisms for weak links like credit reporting and fintech; on the other hand, standardizing the management of partner institutions, cleaning up and optimizing 83 loan assistance partners, establishing full-chain controls for access, monitoring, and exit, to prevent third-party cooperation risks from spilling over. In February 2026, regulatory approval was granted for Mao Hang to serve as Chief Information Officer, whose experience in state-owned banks’ technology management further enhances the bank’s technological compliance governance.

Looking at past penalties, violations mainly concentrated during early business expansion, with recent years seeing significantly fewer penalties in frequency and amount. After this penalty, Xinwang Bank promptly implemented rectification and closed-loop management, demonstrating a shift towards “compliance first” governance. In the context of normalized financial regulation, penalties are not only regulatory but also growth opportunities. Through systematic rectification, Xinwang Bank is internalizing compliance as a fundamental part of its development.

Once, Xinwang Bank faced a “revenue growth but profit decline” dilemma: in 2022 and 2024, revenue grew by 37.98% and 16.07%, respectively, but net profit fell by 25.84% and 19.70% year-on-year. However, this trend reversed in 2025, with operational quality and efficiency entering an upward trajectory. In the first half of 2025, Xinwang Bank achieved revenue of 337k yuan, up 14.16%; net profit of 486 million yuan, a jump of 21.55% year-on-year, with profit growth surpassing revenue growth, fully reversing the “growth but no profit” situation. By the end of June, total assets reached 337k yuan, with scale steadily expanding and profitability continuously recovering. Behind the performance rebound is the effectiveness of the bank’s strategic focus and refined operations: under Chairman Zhu Tao’s leadership, Xinwang Bank returned to its inclusive banking core, optimized asset structure, reduced high-cost liabilities, and improved capital utilization.

The highly watched net interest margin is actually a reasonable reflection of its differentiated positioning. In the first half of 2025, the net interest margin reached 6.32%, higher than the industry average, but aligned with the risk profile of serving small micro and individual business customers. These clients lack traditional collateral, carry higher risk premiums, and Xinwang Bank reduces operational costs through a purely online model, channeling resources into risk control and service. The high interest margin is essentially a combination of risk pricing and digital efficiency, not simply “high charges.” Meanwhile, most of the bank’s products are within the 24% legal interest rate cap, with gradually more transparent fee disclosures, complying with regulatory standards.

Serving high-risk inclusive customers, risk control is the lifeline. In recent years, Xinwang Bank’s asset quality experienced periodic fluctuations but has entered an improvement phase: from 2019 to 2024, non-performing loan ratios fluctuated from 0.60% to 1.69%, and in the first half of 2025, further improved to 1.48%, better than the average for commercial banks during the same period. Under macroeconomic pressure and micro-entity operational difficulties, this improvement is no small feat.

The confidence in risk management comes from an intelligent risk control system empowered by technology. Xinwang Bank relies on big data and artificial intelligence to build the “Zhìqíng AI+” risk control model, achieving full-process management with precise pre-loan profiling, dynamic monitoring during the loan, and intelligent early warning after the loan. Through multi-dimensional data cross-validation, credit risks are effectively identified, with a 12% year-on-year increase in bad debt recovery rate in 2024. By the end of 2024, the provision coverage ratio reached 183.49%, meeting regulatory requirements and continuously optimizing, steadily enhancing risk resistance. China Chengxin’s rating report pointed out that despite challenges from the risk of inclusive customers, Xinwang Bank’s risk control system is increasingly complete, and asset quality is stabilizing.

The over 10,000 complaints on the Black Cat platform reflect the growing pains of Xinwang Bank’s customer service, with complaints mainly about collection practices, interest rate transparency, and contract experience. In response, Xinwang Bank does not avoid or shirk responsibility but has launched a special customer service improvement project.

On one hand, standardizing collection behaviors, stopping third-party illegal collection, establishing standardized and humane collection processes, explicitly prohibiting harassment of unrelated personnel and threats, opening dedicated negotiation channels, and providing personalized solutions like extensions and installments for distressed customers. On the other hand, optimizing online service experience, improving APP contract inquiries, interest rate disclosures, and repayment guidance functions, and ensuring multiple complaint channels such as the 95394 hotline, online customer service, and email, with a response within 15 days, greatly improving problem resolution rates. Meanwhile, strengthening consumer rights protection systems, establishing dedicated departments for personal information protection, regulating data collection and use, and safeguarding customer information security.

From early rough services to now refined operations, Xinwang Bank is customer-focused, filling service gaps, and making digital finance warmer. The high volume of complaints is both pressure and motivation for service optimization. As rectification deepens, customer satisfaction is gradually improving.

As a benchmark for private internet banks, Xinwang Bank’s exploration is a microcosm of China’s digital inclusive finance development. From filling the gap in central and western regions at its founding to serving millions of small micro and individual customers, the bank has always adhered to the original intention of “inclusive” and “beneficial.” During this critical period of shifting from scale expansion to high-quality development, Xinwang Bank has experienced compliance pains, performance fluctuations, and service challenges but remains committed to its positioning, actively rectifies, and steadily upgrades.

Currently, private banks are迎来 policy dividends and transformation opportunities: the country strongly supports inclusive micro and small businesses and the regulated development of fintech, creating broad space for internet banks. Leveraging its online-only advantage, technological capabilities, and customer base, Xinwang Bank is expected to unleash stronger growth momentum after rectification and improvement. In the future, as compliance systems mature, risk control efficiency improves, and service experience is optimized, the bank will further leverage its digital banking advantages to provide more regulated, efficient, and warm financial services, supporting the real economy and moving steadily on the path of high-quality development.

Growth inevitably involves pains, but regulation is essential for long-term success. Xinwang Bank’s transformation proves that internet banks can only stand firm in the tide of the times by integrating compliance into their DNA, empowering risk control with technology, and warming customers with service. This digital inclusive pioneer, with the confidence gained from rectification and growth, is heading toward a more stable future.

Personal opinions for reference only.