Article/Mo Kaiwei, columnist of Sina Financial Opinion Leader (WeChat official account kopleader)
Although the release of Internet management measures of commercial banks is of great significance, it is definitely not a whim of the regulatory authorities, nor is it a response to the regulatory situation, but a frustration forced by the regulatory reality.
According to media disclosure, the CBRC has officially released the Administrative Measures for Internet Loans of Commercial Banks (Draft for Comments) a few days ago, which has made detailed provisions on Internet loan business, including risk data and risk models, acceptance and investigation, credit extension and approval, contract signing, issuance and payment, post loan management, cooperative institutions, regulatory requirements, legal responsibilities, etc.
From the perspective of the content of the administrative measures for Internet loans of commercial banks issued by the CBRC this time, Internet loans have been accurately defined, the scope has been determined, and the perfect connotation has been given. At the same time, the principles and qualifications of Internet loans, the balance of loans issued by commercial banks participating in Internet loans, information data, credit and internal control, joint loan requirements and loan lines The collection cooperation and other aspects have made corresponding policy agreements, which is an "encyclopedia" integrating Internet loan management laws and regulations.
As we all know, in August 2017, the CBRC issued the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Loans by Private Banks (Draft for Comments). This time, the draft for comments on the Internet loan management measures of commercial banks was released again, which can be basically understood as a further improvement and supplement to the previous measures. Obviously, if the draft of the Internet Loan Management Measures of Commercial Banks is officially released and implemented after it is released, it indicates that the online loans of commercial banks, especially consumer finance business, will be subject to strong supervision, and it also means that the regular army of commercial banks may occupy the mainstream of the market in the online loan business, play a leading role, or usher in explosive growth, It will not only disturb the pattern of Internet loans, but also put a more solid, reliable, safe and convenient "protective shield" on Internet loans, which is expected to lead Internet loans to a healthy and sustainable development track.
Although the release of the Internet management measures of commercial banks is of great significance, the author believes that it is more interesting to see why the CBRC is issuing another draft for comments on the management of Internet loans of commercial banks at this time? After thinking about it, this is definitely not a whim of the regulatory authorities, nor is it a response to the regulatory situation, but a frustration forced by the regulatory reality.
In recent years, the development of Internet finance is in full swing, especially the Internet P2P platform has entered a period of high thunderstorms in the process of cleaning up and rectification. During the period of high thunderstorms on the P2P platform, the funds of the general public have indeed suffered huge losses, and financial security and stability have also become more "mysterious". This made the regulators have to think that rather than let online lending of Internet finance fall into such confusion and disorder, it would be better to lead Internet lending of commercial banks to a more standardized "Kangzhuang" approach. Therefore, at present, the Internet Loan Exposure Draft can be seen as an effective way to encourage large commercial banks and local commercial banks to commit to Internet loans, and to include small, decentralized Internet loans required by more people in their own arms. This practice can undoubtedly prevent Internet loan risks and provide important opportunities for commercial banks to expand their Internet loan business, Most importantly, this approach can make up for the necessary and effective rectification of the current Internet P2P platform into the in-depth area and critical period, and can also be understood as the performance of commercial banks' effective "takeover" of a large number of Internet loans, or create conditions for the integration of Internet loans into the regular army. As for the intention of the regulators, I think it should be the main point of this draft.
The biggest problem of Internet loans is to prevent risks and ensure the safety of both lenders. In order to curb the occurrence of various moral risks or fraud, the draft for comments has built a strict risk prevention fence in this regard. There were many problems exposed by P2P platforms in the past, among which the focus was to set up their own capital pool, increase the leverage of loans, the loan risk caused by the opaque information of lenders, and the blind pursuit of loan scale and income by P2P platforms, which dragged many Internet loan platforms into the abyss of operation. This is the most worrying issue for the regulators. However, this draft clearly puts the prevention of online loan operation risk in the first place, focusing on the prevention of financial risk: for example, small amount and decentralization, the credit line of individual loan for a single household should not exceed 300000 yuan, the credit line of working capital for a single enterprise should not exceed 500000 yuan, and the loan term should not exceed 1 year, This can fundamentally avoid the high risk of loan uncertainty caused by excessive loan amount and long term; It mainly serves local customers, and the balance of Internet loans granted to customers in other provinces shall not exceed 20% of the total balance of Internet loans. This requirement is mainly for commercial banks to grasp and control risks in a timely manner, avoid regional financial risk spillovers, and control financial risks within a smaller local scope.
The most important thing is that in order to prevent the mutual infection of Internet loan risks among banking institutions, joint loans are strictly restricted: for example, loan data partners provide effective risk data, including customer original information data, that can be obtained through legal channels and meet the requirements of identity verification, loan investigation, risk assessment and credit review. The bank shall not directly make credit decision based on the data provided by the data partner, or transfer the loan risk management responsibilities in a disguised form. At the same time, commercial banks are required not to outsource credit review, risk control and other core business processes to cooperative institutions, and not to lend only according to the credit scores provided by third-party cooperative institutions; In terms of joint loans, it is required to establish an internal management system for joint loans and clarify the bank's authorization management mechanism. Each bank of the joint loan shall independently examine and approve the loan, and shall not provide funds in any form for the cooperative institution without loan qualification, nor jointly contribute to the loan with the cooperative institution without loan business qualification. In addition, there is also a clear agreement on the amount of joint loans, requiring commercial banks to make no less than 30% of their contributions in a single joint loan; The proportion of capital contribution of the bank accepting the recommended customer shall not be more than 70%. The balance of all joint loans of the commercial bank as the customer's recommender shall not exceed 50% of the balance of Internet loans; All joint loans of commercial banks recommended by customers shall not exceed 30% of the balance of all Internet loans. To a large extent, this has overcome the bad tendency of commercial banks to earn only the benefits of joint loans, not to assume the responsibility of joint loans, and to let private online banks bear all the loan risks. At the same time, it has also played an effective role in restricting online banks from expanding their online loan business without restraint regardless of operational risks, Finally, the two sides should work together to build a solid dam to prevent the risks of online loans.
In the past, the biggest problem of online loans was some illegal behaviors in collection, such as the violent loan urging caused by the packaging of debts to the third social institution, which not only infringed on the personal safety of the lender, but also affected the stability of social finance and social order, making Internet loans stigmatized, This has also laid a solid foundation for the development of social inclusive finance. The draft clearly stipulates the cooperation in collection. Commercial banks should not entrust third-party collection agencies with records of violent collection and other violations to collect loans. If commercial banks find that cooperative collection agencies have violent collection and other violations, they should immediately terminate the cooperation and hand over the clues of violations to relevant departments. At the same time, for cooperative institutions providing outsourcing services, lenders should strictly manage in accordance with the relevant regulatory system of outsourcing risk management, which ensures that the lender's due rights and interests are not infringed to the maximum extent, and will not cast a shadow on online lending. Moreover, this regulation can also allow more people or enterprises to dare to apply for online loans from formal banking institutions when they have difficulties in operation or life; At the same time, it will also help commercial banks and private banks to focus more on online lending, innovate more online lending service models and service products, meet the growing effective demand of the people for online lending financial services, maximize the lack of social financial services, and solve the dilemma of difficult and expensive loans in the whole society. Obviously, the joint commitment of commercial banks and private banks to online lending can not only create a good environment for the healthy and sustainable development of online lending, but also realize the ecological and marketization of online lending, promote the development and prosperity of online lending business to the largest extent and to a higher degree, and ultimately replace a large number of unqualified online lending institutions in society, Let people avoid being infringed by illegal online loan platforms or institutions, so that people can enjoy the fruits of social and financial development and reform.
(About the author of this article: well-known financial commentator and independent economist)
