Big green things are reportedly expected after a local branch of a national environmental financing initiative – dubbed the Two Mountain Bank – was established on Aug 3 in the Tonggong township of Changshan county, administered by Quzhou city in Zhejiang province.

It is reportedly the first such scheme to settle in the rural town.

The "bank" – an intermediary financing platform – allows commercial banks to issue special environmental finance loans by monetizing regional natural resources, such as idle farmland. It comes from China's environmental Two Mountains concept, under which "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets".

The green financing program is spreading across China. Those in need of financing mortgage their green assets to the platform, which offers a guarantee after which a local commercial bank provides the loan.

One of the first clients of the new Tonggong branch was the head of a Changshan county family farm – Zhang Fageng – who got a business certificate for its natural resources.

A man applies for a business certificate for Changshan county natural and green resources in the Tonggong branch of the Two Mountain Bank. [Photo/qz123.com]

Zhang pledged his farm's land with the financing platform and received a receipt, as well applied for a business certificate. With the business certificate he can access funding from more than 10 banks in the county.

Tonggong township is a national pilot site for land improvement, but it has to date experienced bottlenecks due to inefficient and idle resources that have hampered its development.

It is expected that the Tonggong branch will help repurpose more idle assets in rural areas.

Since its establishment last September, the Changshan Two Mountain Bank has purchased and stored a total of 350 million yuan ($54 million) in resources. It has also leveraged 1.96 billion yuan in social funds and has helped generate income of 17.01 million yuan for 176 administrative villages.