中國明股實債判例威脅影子銀行

A court ruling in a fourth-tier Chinese city has exposed legal risks from investment in fake equity by shadow banks, carrying potentially broad implications for the $2.6tn industry.

來自中國四線城市的一樁法院裁決暴露了影子銀行明股實債投資的法律風險，該判決對這一規模2.6萬億美元的產業可能造成廣泛影響。

Trusts have emerged as the biggest source of non-bank lending in recent years, with assets under management reaching Rmb18.2tn ($2.6tn) at the end of September.

近年來，信託公司已成爲非銀行貸款的最大來源，截至9月底所管理資產已達18.2萬億元人民幣（合2.6萬億美元）。

That places trusts second only to commercial banks and ahead of insurance companies and securities brokerages.

信託公司的地位僅次於商業銀行，排在保險公司和證券經濟之前。

Some trust investments are classified as loans but a significant portion is instead labelled as equity.

部分信託投資被歸類爲貸款，但有很大一部分被標記爲股權。

These deals typically involve an equity investment paired with a repurchase agreement, which requires the investee to buy back its equity along with a fixed dividend at a specified date.

這些交易通常牽涉與回購協議配套的股權投資，協議要求投資對象在指定日期以固定股利回購其股票。

The repo essentially transforms the equity financing into a debt-like arrangement.

這種回購實質上是將股權融資轉化成債務類安排。

The practice allows trusts to evade regulations intended to restrict lending to risky borrowers.

這一行徑令信託得以規避旨在限制向高危借款人貸款的法規。

In Chinese, the practice is known colloquially as fake equity, real debt.

在中國，此做法俗稱明股實債。

Analysts say fake equity is one reason China’s official debt statistics may fail to capture the full extent of credit Growth in the country.

分析師表示假股權是中國官方債務統計數據或許沒有充分反映國內信貸增長水平的原因之一。

In a little-noticed ruling last Month, a district court in Wuxing district of Huzhou city, in east China’s prosperous Zhejiang district, rejected a claim by New China Trust that it should be treated as a debtholder in the bankruptcy of a local property developer.

在上個月一樁不爲人注意的判決中，浙江省湖州市吳興區人民法院駁回了新華信託(New China Trust)的請求，新華信託申請在當地一家房地產開放商破產清算程序中應被視作債權人。

New China Trust invested Rmb225m in Huzhou Port Land Real Estate Company to finance a residential development called Triumphant Return International.

新華信託向湖州港城置業有限公司(Huzhou Port Land Real Estate Company)投資2.25億元人民幣，爲凱旋國際(Triumphant Return International)社區項目提供資金。

The deal required Port Land to repay the equity plus dividends in three stages over 30 months, but the developer made only partial repayment.

該交易要求港城置業在30個月內分三期償還股本加股息，但這家開發商只償還了部分債務。

In 2015 Port Land entered bankruptcy.

2015年港城置業進入破產程序。

In a bid to recover its money, New China Trust submitted itself to the bankruptcy administrator as a creditor.

爲了追回投資，新華信託向破產管理人提出自己應作爲債權人。

This would have granted the trust seniority over equity holders in terms of recovering assets from Port Land.

這樣在收回港城置業資產時，新華信託將比股東優先獲得欠款。

But the administrator disagreed, deciding that New China was in fact an equity holder.

但管理人不同意，認爲新華信託其實是股東。

In its recent judgment, the district court upheld that decision against a challenge from New China Trust.

當地法院在最近的判決中堅持這一決定，駁回了新華信託的請求。

The ruling could have a major impact on China’s trust industry.

該裁決可能對中國信託行業產生重大影響。

Growth of trust loans outstanding dropped from 62 per cent in 2013 to only 2 per cent last year, according to data from the China Trustee Association, due in part to tougher regulation.

根據中國信託業協會(China Trustee Association)的數據，由於監管加強的部分作用，信託貸款增長率從2013年的62%劇降到去年的2%。

But four other categories of trust investment, all of which potentially include fake equity deals, collectively grew 15 per cent last year.

但去年其他四類信託投資總體增長了15%，其中可能包括假股權交易。

New China has not said if it will appeal against the decision.

新華信託未表示是否會提出上訴。

If a higher court takes the opposite view — either in an appeal of this case or in a separate but similar case — the precedent could be reversed.

如果上級法院持相反意見——無論是對本案的上訴，還是對另一起相似案例——先前判決可以被撤銷。

If the precedent stands, trusts could be forced to return to more traditional lending structures.

如果先前判決成立，信託公司可能被迫回到更傳統的貸款結構。

That would probably lead to less overall lending, due to the tighter regulations.

由於監管規定收緊，這可能導致整體貸款減少。

Alternatively, trusts could continue with equity deals but they would face pressure to change how they deal with clients.

或者，信託公司可以繼續股權交易，但它們將在壓力下改變與客戶打交道的方式。

Most trusts raise funds by selling high-yielding investment products to investors, who perceive them as carrying the safety of a fixed-income product.

大多數信託公司通過向投資者出售高收益投資產品來籌集資金，而投資者認爲信託公司承擔着固定收益產品的安全。

If fake equity investors lack the seniority that creditors enjoy, trusts would in principle have to communicate this increased risk investors.

如果假股權投資者缺乏債權人所享有的優先權，信託公司原則上必須與這一風險增加的投資者進行溝通。