中國銀監會出臺新規收緊影子銀行風控

China’s banking regulator is cracking down on financial engineering that Chinese banks have used to disguise trillions of dollars in risky loans as investment products.

中國銀行業監管機構正在打擊中國各銀行用來把數萬億美元高風險貸款僞裝成投資產品的“金融工程”。

The clampdown, which will force banks to make provisions they previously avoided by disguising loans as investments, is designed to deflate one of the fastest-growing areas of the vast shadow banking apparatus, where bad debts are increasing.

這一打擊行動將迫使銀行爲他們此前僞裝成投資的貸款做出撥備，其目的是抑制龐大的影子銀行體系中增長最快的板塊之一；目前中國的影子銀行業壞賬不斷增加。

Shadow banking emerged as a force five years ago, ranging from interbank transactions through to wealth management products, which promise inflated returns often backed by loans to struggling companies.

從銀行間交易到理財產品，影子銀行業在5年前成爲一股力量，此類產品承諾膨脹的回報，而其擔保物往往是發放給困境企業的貸款。

During the past three years, banks in China have used complex accounting techniques to move loans off the balance sheets and into a category of investments that requires less provisions than loans.

在過去三年裏，中國各銀行使用複雜的會計方法，把貸款從資產負債表轉移至一個投資類別，後者要求的撥備少於貸款。

It has also reduced the rate of defaults that appear on bank balance sheets because the assets no longer have the characteristics of loans.

這也降低了銀行資產負債表上出現的違約率，因爲相關資產不再具有貸款的特點。

These so-called debt receivables have become one of the fastest growing areas of Chinese banks. Debt receivables increased 63 per cent to Rmb14tn ($2.2tn) last year, according to an analysis of 103 Chinese banks by Wigram Capital Advisors, equivalent to 16.5 per cent of the formal loan book.

這些所謂的應收賬款已成爲中國銀行業增長最快的領域之一。Wigram Capital Advisors對中國103家銀行進行的分析顯示，去年應收賬款增長63%，至14萬億元人民幣（合2.2萬億美元），相當於正規貸款總額的16.5%。

Analysts say shadow banking poses a big risk to China’s financial system because many of the products are designed to skirt regulation and promote risk-laden investment.

分析師們表示，影子銀行業對中國金融體系構成很大的風險，因爲很多產品的設計宗旨就是跟監管打擦邊球，推銷充滿風險的投資。

Under the new rules, released at the weekend by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, banks can no longer use wealth management funds to invest directly or indirectly in their own investment products. The lenders will also have to fully provision for the investment products that are based on bank loans.

根據中國銀行業監督管理委員會(CBRC)上週公佈的新規則，銀行不再能夠用理財資金直接或間接投資本行信貸資產收益權。銀行還必須對基於銀行貸款的投資產品全額計提資本。

“If execution is right, I think you will see a major impact on the banks, especially some of the smaller ones,” said Wei Hou, director at Sanford C Bernstein in Hong Kong. “Some of the small banks could need additional capital.”

“如果執行正確，我認爲你會看到此舉對銀行產生重大影響，特別是對一些規模較小的銀行，”桑福德伯恩斯坦(Sanford C. Bernstein)在香港的總監侯偉（音）表示。“其中一些小銀行可能需要更多資本。”

While smaller banks are most active in shadow banking, the big four state-owned banks also reduced provisions last year on their traditional loan books. By making less provision, the biggest banks were able to maintain largely flat profit growth last year. If they are forced to provision more for once-hidden losses, profit growth could decline faster this year.

儘管規模較小的銀行在影子銀行業最爲活躍，但四大國有銀行去年也減少了傳統貸款賬簿上的撥備。通過減少撥備，這些大型銀行去年得以保持利潤基本持平。如果他們被迫針對此前隱藏的虧損加大撥備，今年的利潤增長可能更快下滑。

Ratios for provisions on losses continued to fall in the first three months of the year, financial statements showed.

財務報表顯示，今年頭三個月期間壞賬撥備覆蓋率繼續下降。

The provisioning ratio at China’s biggest bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, fell to 141 per cent of bad debt, below the 150 per cent threshold set out by the regulator, which was recently lowered from 200 per cent. ICBC’s profit growth was nearly flat for the quarter.

中國最大銀行——中國工商銀行(ICBC)的壞賬撥備覆蓋率降至141%，不到監管機構最近才從200%下調的150%的下限。工行的一季度利潤同比基本持平。

Mid-sized Industrial Bank reported some of the highest levels of investment receivables in its first-quarter results. The bank held Rmb2tn in investment receivables as of the end of March, 36 per cent of its total assets and equivalent to the size of Singapore’s gross domestic product last year.

中等規模的興業銀行(Industrial Bank)在第一季度業績中報告的應收款項類投資在業內屬於極高水平。該行在3月底持有2萬億元人民幣的應收款項類投資，相當於其總資產的36%，或者新加坡去年的國內生產總值(GDP)。