Beginning in the second quarter of this year, monetary policy has frequently pushed down financing costs.
In April, the central bank announced a 0.25 percentage point cut in the reserve requirement ratio, and in May ushered in an "interest rate cut". The multi-channel policy has been exerted frequently, and market funds have begun to be abundant.
On the one hand, the reporter observed that urban investment bonds are highly sought after, with a subscription multiple of 60 times; on the other hand, the reporter learned from a number of western banks that the credit balance is abundant but the willingness of enterprises to lend has declined.
In the context of the regulation mentioning that the financing costs of enterprises will decline, what are the countermeasures of various banking institutions? Are credit lines easy? How is the actual delivery? Are interest rates lower?
City Commercial Banks: Advance Credit Extension, Sufficient Small and Micro Loans
"Our small and micro loans have an approved quota of more than 70 million, which are still credit loans. If customers need, they can sign a contract to pay at any time, but the customer demand is not high." The person in charge of the small and micro department of a branch of a western city commercial bank told "Daily" The reporter of Economic News is indeed facing a situation where the credit line is loose, but the willingness of customers to borrow relatively declines and there is no demand for payment.
The reporter asked the person in charge whether this situation is common in the local area. He said: "Yes, the People's Bank of China held a meeting in May, and all the banks mentioned this issue when they spoke. The market demand is weak, and the credit demand of small and micro enterprises is not strong."
"Clients with better operating conditions said that they can stabilize the current market, they are unwilling to expand investment, their willingness to invest is not strong, and there are no good projects." He explained.
Then the person in charge recalled that since the end of the first quarter of this year, the situation has become more obvious. It is also mentioned that at the end of December last year, the bank had a situation where the task of small and micro loans was still a little short. "We increased small and micro loans by 110 million yuan at the end of March, but in April, it dropped by more than 40 million yuan, and many customers repaid early." He said.
Regarding the reason for the early repayment, he further explained: "In the past, after the existing customers returned the money, they normally repaid the loan with the loan, so that the amount can be controlled every month. But now the customer repays the money in advance. Not only will the loan not be used, but also the original credit scale should be reduced. This reflects the fact that the market is indeed inactive and the demand for payment has declined.”
Are there any task volume assessment and quota requirements for the current small and micro loans? How's the delivery going? The person in charge said that they have to report the launch of the small and micro enterprise credit plan to the regulatory authorities every month, and the head office has also given the task. "We take the initiative to market products, such as credit loans, and move the credit link forward, waiting for customers to use it at any time. However, so far this month, the task is still more than 20 million. Calling customers, customers either do not use it, or only spend 500,000 yuan. Something like that... The client explained that without expanding investment, the business can turn around," he said.
The demand for small and micro loans has weakened. What is the situation of personal mortgage loans?
" real estate loans, there are currently only restrictions on housing loans, and other mortgage loans and other policies have been liberalized, and there are no restrictions." The person in charge introduced.
"Last year, due to quota restrictions, developers sought out banks and begged banks to do mortgages. This year, we took the initiative to market, and the role was reversed." He said with a smile that mortgage loan quotas were a scarce resource last year, with interest rates ranging from 5.6% to 5.8%. But this year, all banks have liberalized their policies, and there is no limit to the amount.
State-owned banks: lending is easy, and customers are not willing to lend
How do state-owned banks feel? The reporter interviewed relevant personnel of secondary branches of several state-owned banks.
"It is not difficult for us to lend money, but at present, the customers' willingness to lend is not strong, and the demand has decreased. Whether it is to contact whitelisted customers by phone or visit on the spot, there are many replies who are unwilling to lend." A staff member of the corporate department of a large state-owned bank commented. reporter said.
Another person from the personal finance department of a sub-branch of a large state-owned bank said: "Our bank currently has no restrictions on personal loans, but due to the adverse effects of the early stage, the current approval is more stringent, the willingness to consume loans has declined, and the mortgage is OK."
"There are cases where customers' willingness to lend has declined, and it is relatively obvious." Another person from the housing loan department of a large state-owned bank said bluntly, mainly due to the low transaction rate of commercial housing. Since the beginning of this year, the bank's personal housing loan growth has been slow, and even negative growth in May.
Recently, a news that "regulatory requires banks to increase their monthly new loans more than the same period last year" has attracted attention. In this regard, the reporter also asked several banks.
"In terms of supervision, we only examine the net increase in loans this year, and there is no requirement for an increase over the same period," said a staff member of the company department of a large state-owned bank mentioned above.
"We held a meeting two days ago to convey the spirit of the meeting of the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on real estate finance, but it did not say that the monthly new loans would exceed the same period last year, but only said that conditions would be relaxed to promote the real estate market." A staff member of the personal finance department of the branch said.
Another large state-owned bank mortgage department staff said that they have not received relevant notices, mainly to increase the number of customers.
Countermeasures: Lower interest rates, flexible repayments, internal incentives
In response to the weakening demand in the current credit market, what incentives and preferential policies have banks adopted?
"Our bank mainly reduces interest rates for customers, flexibly repays, and the flexibility of products is higher than before." The person in charge of the small and micro department of the aforementioned city commercial bank said that the internal incentives are mainly competition awards for various activities, which are given to account managers. List prices to promote business development. In addition, the bank recommends that the head office make more online products and return products as needed, which will also reduce costs for customers.
He said that the traditional model is an offline product, and the credit is only valid for one year, and the credit must be re-applied after expiration, and the procedures are cumbersome. In contrast, customers are more willing to accept online products with flexible payment and repayment methods. For example, if 500,000 yuan is approved, and only 100,000 yuan is used, then only 100,000 yuan of interest will be calculated, and the repayment can be repaid at any time in a few days.
What is the real interest rate range for small and micro loans? "According to regulatory requirements, the annual interest rate of most small and micro loans is now 5.5%, and some are lower than 5.5%. It is much lower than before, which was basically above 7% before." He explained.
An official from the company department of the aforementioned state-owned bank said: “This year, the interest rate for corporate loans has dropped a little to around 4.2%, and the interest rate for self-employed individuals is 4.25%.”
In terms of personal loans, the bank's housing loan department said that it has actively taken corresponding measures to reverse the negative growth of housing loans. For example, adjusting the personnel structure, making regular door-to-door visits to the mortgage-approved real estate, and staying in the market during critical periods, realizing one-stop service from customer purchase to loan processing, and incorporating the requirements into the assessment of the account manager. In addition, increase marketing efforts, actively market unapproved and newly developed properties, keep abreast of project progress, and reduce pricing to attract customers based on knowledge of peers.
Chengtou bonds are sought after: how will the asset shortage be interpreted?
In terms of banks, according to what the reporter learned, funds are not tight, but customers' willingness to lend has declined.
From the perspective of the bond market, since the beginning of the year, the supply of credit bonds has continued to shrink, and signs of "asset shortage" have appeared faintly. Since April, chengtou-related underpinning policies have been issued frequently, and chengtou bonds have become the darling of the market.
On May 26, Jiangsu Dafeng Seaport Holding Group Co., Ltd. announced the issuance of "22 Dafeng Seaport CP002". Judging from the issuance situation, the total amount of the bond planned to be issued is 500 million yuan, but it has attracted 30.35 billion yuan of subscription funds, and the subscription multiple is more than 60 times.
The reporter noticed that in March this year, the company also issued a bond of the same size and term called "22 Dafeng Seaport CP001", with a coupon rate of 6%, which is 1 higher than "22 Dafeng Seaport CP002". %, but only 520 million funds were subscribed, and the subscription multiple was only 1.04 times.
Only two months later, the total amount of bonds issued before and after the two tranches remained unchanged, but the interest rate was lowered, but it still attracted dozens of times of enthusiasm.
In addition to 22 Dafeng Harbour CP002, the reporter combed Wind data and found that since this year, it is not uncommon to subscribe for urban investment bonds several times or dozens of times. In May alone, the urban investment bonds subscribed for over 50 times also include "22 Xinghua Urban Investment SCP003" and "22 Thai Huaxin CP001", which are 60 times and 52.95 times respectively. In addition, "22 Niushou Mountain SCP001" also appeared 36.3 times subscribed, and "22 Zhenjiang Transportation MTN003", "22 Ganzhou City Investment MTN002", "22 Taixing City Investment CP001" and other bonds were subscribed for more than 20 times.
Regarding the follow-up interpretation of the asset shortage, CITIC Securities ( 600030 ) Mingming bond research team recently wrote that the current round of "asset shortage" is mainly due to the imbalance between the supply and demand of credit bonds, the decline of the overall default rate and the pressure of the local epidemic and the economy. Fund-driven. The priority is to grab short-end and urban investment bonds, with the grade gradually sinking and the duration gradually lengthening. At the end of the second quarter, with the implementation of various stabilizing growth policies, the increase in the supply of local debt and the gradual fading of the impact of the epidemic, the extreme "asset shortage" is expected to gradually ease by the end of the second quarter. At the same time, it is necessary to pay close attention to the coordination of monetary policy.
Multi-department: promote the implementation of a package of policies as soon as possible
In order to boost market demand and confidence, and keep the economy operating within a reasonable range, various departments have taken active measures to promote the implementation of a package of policies as soon as possible, so as to give full play to the policy effect of stabilizing the economy and helping enterprises to bail out.
The reporter of "Daily Economic News" noted that on June 7, the Bank ( 601988 ) Association issued the "Proposal on Actively Strengthening Financial Services to Comprehensively Help Stabilize the Economy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Proposal") to guide all Banking institutions will further strengthen financial support for enterprises and related groups in industries temporarily in distress due to the epidemic, ensure the implementation of relevant financial relief policies, and better stabilize the economic market.
The "Proposal" mentioned that all banking institutions should increase credit support and stabilize market players. The specific manifestations are as follows: the credit issuance is advanced, the implementation of special resource allocation, and the focus on supporting key areas.
In addition, in terms of continuing to reduce fees and profits, and reduce financing costs, it is emphasized that the loan interest rate should be pushed down. On the basis of continuing to implement the existing measures to reduce fees and give profits, all banking institutions should obtain low-cost financial support in a timely manner by using various monetary policy tools and local bailout policies, strengthen the management of debt costs, and further develop under the principle of commercial sustainability. Lower business loan interest rates. In addition, it is necessary to appropriately reduce or exempt service fees, and explore the space for reducing fees and making profits, reducing the cost of comprehensive services, and helping enterprises to tide over difficulties together.
In the "Notice on Further Strengthening Financial Support for the Development of Small and Micro Enterprises in 2022" issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in April, it clarified the annual work goals: in terms of total volume, the banking industry continue to achieve the growth rate of inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises, The number of households has increased by two. In terms of structure, we will strive to continuously increase the proportion of credit loans in the balance of inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises. Efforts were made to increase the proportion of first-time loan customers among small and micro enterprise loan households. Large banks and joint-stock banks realized that the number of new small and micro enterprise legal person "first-time loan customers" in the whole year was higher than that of the previous year. In terms of cost, on the premise of ensuring the incremental expansion of credit issuance, we will strive to reduce the overall interest rate of inclusive small and micro enterprise loans issued by the banking industry throughout the year compared with 2021.
The central bank said at a press conference in early June that it has introduced a series of policy measures this year: reducing the deposit reserve ratio, turning over the balance of profits, and releasing long-term liquidity. We guided the loan market quoted interest rates to decline twice, and launched a number of structural monetary policy tools in a timely manner.
"The loan interest rate of enterprises from January to April was 4.39%, a further decrease of 0.22 percentage points compared with the whole year of 2021. This figure is also the lowest since the People's Bank of China has statistical records." The relevant person in charge of the central bank said.
