中国从严整顿互联网金融 China cracks down on internet finance sector

China’s centrAl bank is leading a wide-ranging clean-up of the country’s unruly internet finance sector, including a suspension on registering new companies with “finance” in their names, local media have reported.

据中国媒体报道，中国央行正在牵头对国内不守规矩的互联网金融行业进行一场大范围整治，包括全国暂停注册“金融”相关字样的企业。

Internet finance has grown rapidly in China over the past two years, but this growth has also attracted fly-by-night operators and outright fraud.

过去两年来，互联网金融在中国快速发展壮大，但也出现了卷款潜逃的从业者和明目张胆的欺诈行为。

Last week, multiple agencies led by the People’s Bank of China approved a plan for cleaning up internet finance, respected business news magazine Caixin reported on its website.

受人尊敬的财经媒体《财新网》在其网站上报道称，上周，以中国人民银行(PBoC)为首的多个机构批准了一份整治互联网金融的方案。

The multi-agency task force will undertake a one-year crackdown on fraud and risk in online payments, peer-to-peer lending, equity crowdfunding, wealth management and online insurance, Caixin said.

这个跨机构工作组将针对网上支付、P2P借贷、股权众筹、理财和互联网保险等领域的欺诈和风险进行为期不到一年的整治。

Analysts have said increased regulation was likely to benefit larger players such as Ant Financial, the Alibaba Group affiliate, and Tencent Holdings by reducing competition from smaller rivals.

分析人士表示，加强监管很可能减少来自规模较小企业的竞争，从而有利于规模较大的企业，如阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)旗下的蚂蚁金服(Ant Financial)以及腾讯控股(Tencent Holdings)。

The latest plan instructs province-level agencies responsible for registering corporations — known as administrations for industry and commerce — not to approve new registrations of companies when the world “finance” appears in their name or business description, Caixin reported separately.

财新网另外报道称，《互联网金融风险专项整治工作实施方案》指示负责注册公司的省级机关——工商系统——暂停登记注册在名称、经营范围中含有金融相关字样的企业。

P2P and crowdfunding are a particular focus of the clean-up, Caixin reported. The PBoC plan forbids P2P companies from fundraising for their own projects or guaranteeing loans.

据财新网报道，P2P和众筹是这场整治的“重中之重”。《实施方案》禁止P2P公司“自融自保”，即为自己的项目募集资金或担保贷款。

It also calls for a crackdown on maturity mismatch in P2P lending and “fund pools” in which investor funds are not matched with specific loans but combined into a single pool.

它还要求打击P2P借贷和资金池之间的期限错配，即投资者的资金不是与具体贷款匹配，而是被组合成一个池。

Some P2P platforms have attracted customers by selling short-maturity investment products even when underlying loans are of longer maturity. Then they use sales of new products to fund payments due on maturing ones.

一些P2P平台通过销售期限较短的投资产品吸引客户，即便基础贷款的期限更长。然后他们利用新产品的销售所得支付到期产品的应付款项。

The plan also calls for a crackdown on P2P loans used for mortgage downpayments, which have been blamed for the recent surge in property prices in major cities.

《实施方案》还要求整治用于购房首付的P2P贷款，这类首付贷被指加剧了最近大城市房价飙涨。

Some 3,984 P2P platforms had loans outstanding of Rmb504bn ($78bn) at the end of March, according to Online Lending House, a website that tracks the industry.

追踪P2P贷款行业的网站网贷之家(Online Lending House)的数据显示，截至3月底，大约3984个P2P平台的未偿还贷款总计达到5040亿元人民币（合780亿美元）。

For equity crowdfunding, the plan targets platforms that exaggerate the current or potential profits of the investment project. It also forbids fundraising projects that are classified as equity but are effectively like debt because they promise a fixed payout.

对于股权众筹，《实施方案》将重点打击那些夸大投资项目当前或潜在利润的平台。它还禁止“明股实债变相集资”。

Crowdfunding and wealth management platforms are also barred from selling hedge fund-style investment products to retail investors who do not meet the qualifications for buying them through offline channels, or from packaging multiple such funds into synthetic products, the plan said.

《实施方案》称，众筹和理财平台还被禁止向不具备线下购买资质的散户销售对冲基金式的投资产品，也不得将私募发行的各类金融产品通过打包、拆分等形式向公众销售。