Small and micro financial services have made phased progress in increasing volume, expanding coverage, and optimizing structure
Small and micro enterprises are an indispensable force in China's economic and social development, and how to solve the problem of difficult and expensive financing for small and micro enterprises has attracted much attention. On the 24th, a report jointly released by the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission showed that the financial system has made phased progress in promoting financial services for small and micro enterprises by comprehensively leveraging structural monetary policies, differentiated supervision, and fiscal and tax incentives, and combining the three arrows of credit, bonds, and equity.
In order to comprehensively summarize the new policies, practices, and achievements of financial services for small and micro enterprises in 2018, the People's Bank of China, together with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and other departments, has compiled the "China Small and Micro Enterprise Financial Services Report (2018)". The report shows that in 2018, the credit support received by small and micro enterprises in China continued to increase, financing costs significantly decreased, financial service coverage gradually expanded, financial service models and products continued to innovate, and the convenience of financial services continued to improve.
Data shows that as of the end of 2018, the balance of inclusive small and micro loans was 8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18%, and the growth rate increased by 8.2 percentage points compared to the end of 2017; The proportion of credit loans for small and micro enterprises with a single credit limit of less than 5 million yuan is 12.5%, an increase of 6.3 percentage points from the end of 2017; The credit granted to inclusive small and micro entities reached 17.93 million households, an increase of 4.67 million households or 35.2% compared to the end of 2017.
The report points out that these achievements are due to the continuous improvement of financial policies and support systems. Banking and financial institutions optimize resource allocation, improve credit management mechanisms, strengthen the use of financial technology, innovate product services, and continuously improve their service capabilities and levels. At the same time, the financing systems of multi-level financing markets such as the bill market and bond market are constantly improving. In addition, the policy support system such as monetary policy, differentiated regulatory policies, and fiscal and tax incentives has become more sound, and risk sharing and credit enhancement mechanisms such as insurance, financing guarantees, local risk compensation, and credit reporting systems have gradually been established.
At the press conference on financial services for small and micro enterprises held on the same day, Zou Lan, Deputy Director of the Market Department of the People's Bank of China, introduced that since the beginning of this year, loans for small and micro enterprises have continued to show a trend of "increasing volume, expanding scope, and optimizing structure". Inclusive small and micro loans have maintained rapid growth, and the number of small and micro households supported by credit has continued to increase. The proportion of credit loans in inclusive small and micro enterprise loans has continued to increase. As of the end of May this year, the balance of inclusive small and micro loans was 10.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21%; Inclusive small and micro loans supported 23.63 million small and micro business entities, a year-on-year increase of 35.4%.
Zhang Jinping, inspector of the Inclusive Finance Department of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, introduced that while regulatory authorities promote differentiated supervision of small and micro financial services, various banks have also made attempts in areas such as fund transfer pricing, assessment bias, special fees, and talent cultivation. Currently, five major state-owned banks have completed the listing of their inclusive finance business units.
Data shows that as of the end of May, the balance of inclusive small and micro enterprise loans from five large state-owned banks, namely Industrial, Agricultural, China Construction, and Communications, increased by 23.7% compared to the end of last year, and most of this year's annual plan has been completed; The average interest rate is 4.79%, a decrease of 0.65 percentage points from last year's total.
Zou Lan stated that state-owned banks play a leading role in reducing the overall cost of financing for small and micro enterprises by expanding volume and lowering prices. In the long run, it is necessary to strengthen the small and micro enterprise service capabilities of various commercial banks and build a market-oriented and competitive small and micro financial service system.
The report believes that financial services for small and micro enterprises are still a weak link in China's financial services, and there is still a gap and mismatch between the supply of financial services and the financing needs of small and micro enterprises. The role of small and medium-sized financial institutions is relatively insufficient, with relatively low business scale, coverage, and market share.
邹澜表示，要持续发挥股份制银行的业务和技术优势，有效发挥城商行和农村法人金融机构贴近地方、管理灵活的本土优势，积极发挥民营银行、互联网银行的场景和模式优势，引导各类机构在组织架构、内部管理、服务效率等方面形成各自特色。
他同时强调，中小银行在面临大行竞争时，要进一步发挥自身特色，提高小微金融供给的质量。而国有大行应注重挖掘本行各类客户资源，提高对小微主体的首贷支持力度，努力拓宽小微信贷的覆盖面。
解决小微企业融资难、融资贵问题是一项长期而艰巨的任务。邹澜表示，人民银行将联合相关部门持续推进构建竞争充分、成本适度、风险可控的小微企业金融服务长效可持续机制。
Information source: Chinese government website
He Yang/Organizing
