中國銀行業尋求軟化資管新規

Chinese banks are engaged in a fierce lobbying campaign to soften new rules that would curtail shadow banking, in a test of the government’s determination to rein in runaway debt.

中國的銀行正在奮力進行遊說，試圖軟化將會限制影子銀行業的新規，這將考驗中國政府遏制失控的債務的決心。

The People’s Bank of China and four financial regulatory agencies jointly issued draft rules last month to eliminate implicit guarantees, regulatory arbitrage and maturity mismatch in the asset management sector.

上月，中國央行和4家金融監管機構聯合發佈新規草案。新規的目的是消除資產管理行業的隱性擔保、監管套利和期限錯配等問題。

Regulators have issued a steady stream of rules since 2010 to curb risky non-bank lending, but bankers said the latest rules went far beyond previous efforts. In focus is the Rmb29tn ($4.4tn) market for “wealth management products” that banks market to retail investors as a higher-yielding alternative to deposits.

自2010年以來，爲了遏制高風險的非銀行貸款，監管機構制定了一系列規則，但銀行家表示，這一次的新規的力度遠超之前。本次新規的關注點是29萬億元人民幣（合4.4萬億美元）的“理財產品”市場。銀行向個人投資者銷售理財產品，作爲儲蓄存款的一種高收益替代品。

The regulations forbid banks from guaranteeing a rate of return on wealth management products. Instead, banks will have to mark the products to market based on their net asset value each day, essentially transforming them into traditional mutual funds.

在新規下，銀行不得對理財產品承諾收益率保證。相反，銀行必須依據理財產品的淨值來確定產品價格。這在本質上把理財產品轉化爲傳統的共同基金。

"These rules are radically disruptive, far more than anything we've seen before," said a wealth management executive at a mid-sized Chinese bank. “The overall direction is correct. Developed countries don’t have these kinds of guaranteed products. But we need more time for the transition.”

“這些規則極具破壞性，遠超我們之前看到的程度。”一家中型的中資銀行的理財主管說，“大方向是正確的。發達國家沒有這種擔保產品。但我們需要更多時間轉型。”

Last week, a document circulated online containing detailed feedback from 10 mid-sized lenders during a November 30 meeting convened by the China Banking Association. The association responded that “there is no such thing as a joint submission to regulators” but did not deny a meeting had occurred. Two sources confirmed to the FT the document accurately summarised the meeting.

上週，一份在網上流傳的文件披露了10家中型銀行在11月30日中國銀行業協會(China Banking Association)召開會議期間的反饋意見。該協會迴應說“不存在10家股份制銀行聯合上書情況”，但沒有否認此次會議的召開。有兩方面消息來源向英國《金融時報》證實這份文件準確地總結了此次會議。

While the change shifts risks from banks to investors, bankers fear that, without guarantees, investors will stop buying the products, harming banks’ ability to raise funds. Non-bank financial institutions such as mutual funds and hedge funds are expected to benefit, since they will be able to compete with banks for investor funds on a more equal footing.

雖然這一變動將風險從銀行轉嫁給投資者，但銀行家擔心如果不做保證，投資者將停止購買此類產品，這將有損銀行籌集資金的能力。預計共同基金和對衝基金等非銀行金融機構將受益，因爲它們將可以更平等地與銀行競爭投資者資金。

The rules also restrict banks’ ability to shift loans off their balance-sheets or disguise on-balance-sheet loans as “investments” to evade capital-adequacy requirements.

這些規定還限制銀行轉移資產負債表上的貸款，或將表內貸款僞裝成“投資”以規避資本充足率的要求。

In a direct appeal to policymakers’ desire to maintain strong growth, the document warned the rules would “reduce the strength of support for the real economy”. A significant share of wealth management funds flow to local governments to finance infrastructure projects, which have emerged as a crucial pillar of growth.

該文件警告稱這些規則將“降低對實體經濟的支持力度”，直接訴諸政策制定者保持強勁增長的願望。有相當一部分的財富管理基金流入了地方政府，爲基礎設施項目提供資金，這些項目已成爲增長的關鍵支柱。

The PBoC and the China Banking Regulatory Commission did not respond to requests for comment.

中國人民銀行(PBoC)和中國銀行業監督管理委員會(China Banking Regulatory Commission)沒有迴應置評請求。