"One-Person Company" Goes Viral, Banks Can't Sit Still

Ask AI · How does the risk control system adapt to the high-risk characteristics of one-person companies?

China News Service, March 17 — With just one person, a laptop, and a set of AI tools, one can register and operate a company.

Today, this new entrepreneurial model called “One Person Company” (OPC) is rapidly emerging.

As an important carrier of new productive forces, OPCs have gradually become a popular choice for individual entrepreneurs, and the financial demands behind them are attracting many banks to accelerate their布局 and seize this new blue ocean.

Multiple banks are deploying OPC financial services

Compared to traditional enterprises, “one-person companies” face unique financial needs and challenges. Most entrepreneurs lack collateral, their funding needs are characterized by small amounts and high frequency, and compliance costs are relatively high. Traditional financial service models are difficult to fully meet their development needs.

In response to this pain point, many banks have acted quickly, launching dedicated financial products or comprehensive service plans for OPCs to meet this emerging group’s needs.

In Qingdao, Shandong, the Qingdao branch of SPD Bank launched an OPC comprehensive financial service plan, covering basic corporate banking services such as account opening, settlement, and financing, as well as retail exclusive services like credit, wealth management, and credit cards tailored for AI entrepreneurs. It also links external resources, providing ecosystem non-financial services such as policy interpretation, technology qualification applications, and legal consulting.

In Jiangsu, Nanjing Bank, Jiangsu Bank, and Changshu Rural Commercial Bank have also stepped up efforts, launching products and services targeting OPCs.

According to Nanjing Bank, the bank has launched a special “OPC Tongxin Plan” and achieved its first transaction. This plan focuses on the “light assets, high innovation” characteristics of relevant companies, emphasizing core development factors like “human resources + computing power,” relying on credit products such as “Computing Power Loan” and “Xin Talent.” It aims to meet their financing needs while building a full lifecycle service system through “investment-loan linkage + ecological empowerment,” breaking through financing bottlenecks and service pain points during OPC growth.

Jiangsu Bank explained that the core logic of its OPC financial service plan is shifting from “making a loan” to “serving a company.” The plan integrates account management, payment settlement, fund scheduling, tax invoices, payroll management, bill services, financing support, and ecological links to form a full-cycle support system. Meanwhile, Jiangsu Bank has also launched exclusive financing products for OPCs, using core technology and order information as credit basis, enabling instant approval and quick loans, with flexible repayment.

Rural commercial banks, such as Changshu Rural Commercial Bank, have introduced “OPC Chuangyi Loan,” a financial product providing dedicated services for entrepreneurs in vertical “AI+” scenarios, with customized credit plans, a maximum limit of 5 million yuan, and loans disbursed as quickly as the same day. They also offer special preferential rates and prioritize high-education entrepreneurs and other key groups.

From “funding provider” to “business partner”

It is noteworthy that OPC entrepreneurs’ needs are not limited to funding support but also require resource linkage. From the products and services launched by various banks, banks are no longer confined to basic services like account opening and loans but are also trying to provide entrepreneurs with “comprehensive solutions.”

A person in charge of the Sci-Tech Finance Department at Nanjing Bank told China News Service that OPC companies are characterized by flexible organizational forms, high innovation efficiency, and low startup costs. Banks should focus on “soft information” such as product and technology, and comprehensively assess the future value and development prospects of OPCs. Meanwhile, OPC founders need more than just loans; they require a “one-stop” comprehensive service integrating account management, payment settlement, and tax management. Banks need to shift from being merely “funding providers” to becoming “business partners” offering comprehensive services.

In the past, banks also offered many loan products for micro and small enterprises. Industry insiders believe these products differ from financial products tailored for “one-person companies.”

Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Su Commercial Bank, told China News Service that micro and small enterprise loans focus on real business needs, while products exclusive to “one-person companies” emphasize lightweight, comprehensive services suitable for single-person operation modes. Regarding responsibility, “one-person company” loans often require the actual controller to provide joint liability guarantees, whereas micro and small enterprise loans generally have the company responsible, with shareholders liable only up to their capital contribution. In terms of service models, micro and small enterprise loan systems are mature and standardized, while dedicated services for “one-person companies” are still exploratory and more customized, forming a complementary relationship.

Risk control is key to breaking the deadlock

The dense deployment of OPC financial services by banks reflects deep strategic considerations.

Dong Ximiao, deputy director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, said to China News Service, “One-person companies” often have lightweight assets and deep vertical specialization, allowing them to keenly capture niche markets that large enterprises may overlook, injecting continuous micro-level vitality into the economy, and helping to promote stable employment and expand domestic demand.

Dong believes that for banks, “one-person companies” could be a huge and rapidly growing potential customer group. Those who can provide them with basic financial services like account opening, settlement, and credit early on will be able to establish long-term cooperation with these companies that may grow into “unicorns.” This is a forward-looking market judgment by banks and an effort to find new growth points amid insufficient effective financing demand.

However, behind these opportunities, risks cannot be ignored. Although banks are eager to meet the financial needs of “one-person companies,” the high risk of this new company form also poses new challenges to their risk control systems.

Dong Ximiao pointed out, “No trend is free from speculators. Currently, many training institutions and incubators claiming to be ‘one-person companies’ are selling high-priced courses or charging entry fees. While registering a ‘one-person company’ is easy, success is difficult. Banks should accurately identify and empower this emerging ‘super individual’ group.”

He further noted that traditional evaluation methods based on fixed assets and financial statements are almost ineffective for “one-person companies.” Banks should establish a new multi-dimensional credit profile model, converting soft information such as industry prospects, intellectual property, technical solutions, core algorithms, order contracts, and personal credit into quantifiable credit indicators to scientifically evaluate and accurately identify promising “one-person companies.” At the same time, banks must clearly recognize the particular risks of “one-person companies” and develop effective risk control strategies.

(More reporting tips, please contact the author Wei Wei: weiwei@chinanews.com.cn) (China News Service)

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