中國銀行業掏出巨資救股市 China banks commit $200bn to stock rescue

China's biggest state-owned banks have lent a combined Rmb1.3tn ($209bn) to the country's margin finance agency in recent weeks to staunch a free-fall in the stock market, casting doubt on whether the recent market rebound is sustainable without government support.

最近幾周，中國大型國有銀行已向國內保證金融資機構總計出借了1.3萬億元人民幣（合2090億美元）資金，以止住股市的直線下跌。這不禁讓人懷疑，若無政府的支撐，中國股市近期的反彈能否持續下去。

China Securities Finance Corp was established in 2011 to lend to securities brokerages and support margin lending to stock investors. Amid the stock market's dramatic tumble beginning in late June, however, the government has deployed CSF as a conduit for injecting rescue funds into the stock market.

中國證券金融股份有限公司（China Securities Finance Corp，簡稱：證金公司）成立於2011年，任務是向券商提供貸款，支持其對股票投資者發放保證金貸款。然而，在始於6月底的股市暴跌中，政府把證金公司用作了向股市注入救援資金的一條管道。

CSF has lent to brokerages to finance their stock investment and has also purchased mutual funds directly. But today's revelations indicate that state support for the stock market is much larger than previously disclosed.

證金公司向券商發放了貸款、支持其自營股票投資，另外還直接買入了共同基金。但今日公佈的信息顯示，政府對股市的支撐力度遠大於此前披露的水平。

The Shanghai Composite Index has recovered about 15 per cent since its low point on July 10. The magnitude of state support suggests the rally is largely a government-driven phenomenon.

上證綜指已較7月10日的低點回升了15%以上。政府的託市力度之大表明，這輪迴升基本上是一波政府驅動的行情。

Financial magazine Caijing reported on Friday that the country's sixth-largest lender by assets, China Merchants Bank, provided the largest single loan, at Rmb186bn. The five largest banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and Bank of Communications — each provided more than Rmb100bn. In total, 17 banks provided interbank loans worth around Rmb1.3tn through July 13, the magazine reported.

《財經》雜誌(Caijing)週五報道稱，按資產規模計的中國第六大銀行招商銀行(CMB)提供的貸款最多，達1860億元人民幣。五大行——中國工商銀行(ICBC)、中國建設銀行(CCB)、中國農業銀行(ABC)、中國銀行(BoC)和交通銀行(Bank of Communications)——每一家都提供了逾1000億元人民幣貸款。該雜誌報道稱，17家銀行自7月13日以來提供了總共約1.3萬億元人民幣的銀行間貸款。

The People's Bank of China had previously said it was "actively assisting" CSF to obtain liquidity through interbank lending, bond issuance, and other methods. The central later confirmed it had provided loans directly to CSF, without specifying an amount.

中國央行此前表示，正通過銀行間貸款、債券發行和其他方式“積極幫助”證金公司獲得流動性。中國央行後來證實，它已直接向證金公司提供了貸款，但未說明貸款金額。

CSF also recently issued bonds in the interbank market worth Rmb800bn. With the interbank loans, that brings its total war chest to over Rmb2tn, even before direct loans from the central bank are included.

證金公司近來還在銀行間市場發行了8000億元人民幣債券。有了銀行間貸款，即便不計入從中國央行獲得的直接貸款，證金公司掌控的總資金也達到了逾2萬億元人民幣。

The Caijing report suggests the PBoC is seeking to minimise its direct role in lending to CSF, preferring to rely on commercial banks to provide funds for the stock market rescue.

《財經》的報道表明，中國央行正尋求儘量減少對證金公司的直接貸款，而更傾向於依賴商業銀行提供救市資金。

"I think what the PBoC wants to achieve is like 'Do whatever it takes' as said by (European Central Bank president Mario) Draghi to boost confidence (in the euro), but no need to really print money to buy stocks. They want to do easing, but not this way," said Larry Hu, China economist at Macquarie Securities.

“我認爲，中國央行想要達到的是（歐洲央行(ECB)行長）馬里奧德拉吉(Mario Draghi)爲提振（人們對歐元的）信心時所講的‘不惜一切代價’那樣的效果，但又不需要真正印鈔購買股票。他們想搞寬鬆，但不是以印鈔的方式，”麥格理證券(Macquarie Securities)中國經濟學家胡偉俊(Larry Hu)表示。

Still, the central bank regularly lends to commercial banks through various mechanisms, so PBoC could have provided extra funds to support commercial banks' loans to CSF.

不過，中國央行會時不時通過各種機制向商業銀行發放貸款，所以，中國央行可能已經向銀行提供了額外的資金、以支持它們向證金公司發放貸款。

For the commercial banks, the burden of national service isn't too onerous. Their loans to CSF carry little risk, given CSF's status as a state-owned financial institution, and the return on their loans is "pretty good," Caijing reported.

對商業銀行來說，“爲國效勞”並不是個太苦的差事。《財經》報道稱，鑑於證金公司是國有金融機構，所以商業銀行提供給它的貸款風險很小，而且回報“相當不錯”。