中國央行定向降準，支持小微和負債沉重企業(yè)

SHANGHAI — China gave its economy a shot in the arm on Sunday amid signs of a slowdown, as it freed up more than $100 billion for banks to use to help small businesses and heavily indebted companies.

上海——隨著經(jīng)濟出現(xiàn)放緩跡象，中國在周日注入了一針強心劑，讓銀行釋出了超過1000億美元的資金，用于幫助小微企業(yè)和負債沉重的公司。

The money is intended to help Beijing dance a complicated two-step. China is trying to curb the country’s addiction to borrowing, which over the past decade has mired vast areas of the economy in debt. But that effort is showing signs of hurting growth. China is hoping it can help spur growth by steering loans where they are needed and blocking them where they are not.

這筆錢旨在幫助北京跳出一支復(fù)雜的兩步舞。中國正在試圖遏制對借貸的依賴，在過去十年，這種依賴令其眾多經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域陷入債務(wù)困境。但是這種努力正在顯示出傷害增長的跡象。中國希望能通過在需要的地方引導貸款，在不需要的地方阻止貸款，以刺激增長。

Beijing’s balancing act could soon get more difficult. President Trump is ratcheting up his threats to impose more tariffs on Chinese-made goods. While China’s economy is more than big enough to absorb the blows, Beijing could be forced to reopen the lending spigots if the threats devolve into an all-out trade war.

北京的平衡舉措可能很快會變得更加困難。特朗普總統(tǒng)正加緊威脅對中國制造的商品征收更多關(guān)稅。盡管中國龐大的經(jīng)濟規(guī)模足以應(yīng)對這些打擊，但如果他的威脅升級為全面貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)，北京可能會被迫重新開放貸款閥門。

China in essence told the country’s banks on Sunday that they do not have to sock away as much for a rainy day, allowing them to lend the money instead. The central bank said that, effective July 5, it would reduce by half a percentage point the share of overall deposits that commercial banks and other savings institutions are required to deposit at the central bank, a measure known as the reserve requirement ratio.

中國在周日實質(zhì)上是在告訴其銀行，它們不必儲備太多的錢以應(yīng)對不時之需，并允許它們發(fā)放貸款。央行表示，從7月5日起，它將把商業(yè)銀行和其他儲蓄機構(gòu)需要存入中央銀行的整體存款份額下調(diào)半個百分點，這一措施名為調(diào)整存款準備金率。

It came with a catch: The banks must use the money to help heavily indebted companies or lend more to small businesses with little or no collateral to offer. It is the second time in just over two months that China has freed up money but given banks specific instructions on how to lend it.

這是有條件的：銀行必須用這筆錢來幫助那些負債沉重的公司，或是向沒有或幾乎沒有抵押物可提供的小微企業(yè)發(fā)放更多貸款。這是中國在短短兩個多月內(nèi)第二次釋放資金，同時向銀行提供關(guān)于如何借貸的具體指示。

China’s debt has soared over the past decade, particularly at state-owned companies but more recently among households, threatening the country’s financial future and imperiling one of the world’s most powerful economic engines. That makes it difficult for China to lend more to see the economy through a slowdown.

過去十年來，中國的債務(wù)出現(xiàn)飆升，尤其是在國有企業(yè)中，但最近在私有企業(yè)中也出現(xiàn)了急劇上升，威脅到中國的金融未來，并危及世界上最強大的經(jīng)濟引擎之一。這使得中國很難發(fā)放更多貸款以應(yīng)對經(jīng)濟放緩。

A further expansion of credit now could weaken confidence in China’s currency, which has already slid in value against the dollar over the past week because of worries about a possible trade war with the United States.

現(xiàn)在進一步擴大信貸可能會削弱人們對中國貨幣的信心，在過去一周，因為擔心可能同美國發(fā)生貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)，人民幣兌換美元的匯率已經(jīng)在下跌。

China has been cautious in the past about cutting the reserve ratio during times when its currency appears to be under strain. The move on Sunday “means the People’s Bank of China has put internal economic development as the priority,” said Deng Haiqing, an economist at the China Finance 40 Forum, a Beijing research group.

在貨幣面臨壓力時降低儲蓄準備金率，這在過去是中國頗為忌憚的舉措。周日的舉動“意味著央行的內(nèi)部經(jīng)濟發(fā)展優(yōu)先策略”，北京研究組織中國金融四十人論壇的一位經(jīng)濟學家鄧海清說。

For 17 of the country’s biggest banks, the rules announced on Sunday will free up $77 billion for lending. But the central bank said that this money had to be used as part of programs in which banks obtain shares in deeply troubled companies in exchange for writing off some of these companies’ debts.

對于中國最大的17家銀行來說，周日宣布的規(guī)定相當于釋放770億美元(合5000億人民幣)的貸款。但央行表示，銀行必須將這筆資金用于債轉(zhuǎn)股計劃，即通過獲取陷入困境的公司的股份來勾銷它們的部分債務(wù)。

Banks have been cautious about entering into these debt-for-equity programs, to the annoyance of government regulators. The regulators see the programs as a way to stabilize the balance sheets of heavily indebted companies.

銀行對加入這些債轉(zhuǎn)股計劃一直持謹慎態(tài)度，這讓監(jiān)管機構(gòu)很是惱火。在政府看來，這些計劃可以穩(wěn)定那些高負債企業(yè)的資產(chǎn)負債表。

But the big banks have been wary of holding very large blocks of stock in troubled companies. They have tended to keep lending to these companies, often in the hope that government agencies might bail out the companies and help them pay off their bank debts.

但大銀行一直不愿意大量持有陷入困境的公司的股票。它們傾向于繼續(xù)向這些公司貸款，往往是指望政府機構(gòu)能夠拯救這些公司，并幫助它們還清銀行債務(wù)。

For the rest of the banking system — a hodgepodge of smaller commercial banks, postal savings banks and other savings institutions — the central bank’s move frees up $31 billion. They were instructed to lend more to small businesses.

對于銀行系統(tǒng)的其他機構(gòu)——小型商業(yè)銀行、郵政儲蓄銀行和其他各種儲蓄機構(gòu)等——央行的舉措釋放了310億美元(合2000億人民幣)。它們被指示為更多小微企業(yè)提供貸款。

Chinese-owned banks hold more than 98 percent of the Chinese banking market, and they operate under tight government control. But just in case any might not be inclined to follow closely the instructions on how to use the money from the reserves being freed up, the central bank also included a warning in its statement on Sunday evening: Government bank examiners would include compliance with Sunday’s instructions in their compliance assessments.

國有銀行占中國銀行業(yè)市場份額的98%以上，并且在政府嚴格控制下運營。但為防止有機構(gòu)不愿嚴格遵守關(guān)于如何使用被釋放儲備金的指示，央行在周日晚的聲明中還提出了警告：政府的銀行審查員將把遵守周日的指示納入合規(guī)評估中。

Officials in Beijing have taken other steps in recent months to tackle China’s mountain of debt. They ordered bank auditors to use tougher standards by June 30 in labeling loans as overdue and nonperforming. Those instructions have put pressure on the banks to find solutions for deeply indebted borrowers instead of continuing to wait and hope that the government will offer bailouts.

北京官員近幾個月采取了其他種種措施來解決中國的債務(wù)問題。他們要求銀行審計師在6月30日之前使用更嚴格的標準甄別貸款中的逾期貸款和不良貸款。這些指示向銀行施加了壓力，為深陷債務(wù)的借款者尋求解決方案，而不是繼續(xù)等待并希望政府提供救助。