外资村镇银行与农民玩儿起躲猫猫
Foreign Financed TV Banks Do Hide-and-seek Trick with Domestic Farmers.
By: Sun Silei, Journalist of China Co-operation Times
Source: China Co-operation Times
The foreign financed TV banks still have great enthusiasm to open service points in rural areas of China. Meanwhile, the local people start to have different attitudes about it. It is a fabulous opportunity to assist the agricultural development if farmers can gain loans from those foreign banks and originally there is a great amount of praise about this movement. Nowadays, the western banks always decline local farmer’s application by any means and public doubts about the inclination of agricultural abandon. As for public opinion, they consider the role of foreign financed TV banks is changing from “angel” to “devil”.
“Western Banks”are playing“Hide-and-seek”.
The first case is Standard Chartered Bank and Linger County Bank that is Standard Chartered’ s first rural bank in Chinese rural area as well as the first foreign financed TV bank in Inner Mongolia. The local government including Linger County pays serious attention on this import case. It is not only because this is the first one but also the government deeply hopes the set-up of western bank can bring efficient relief to the burden of lake of capital for economic development with “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”. Due to this reason, the local government offers much more preferential policy including the taxes.
Comparing with the “bombast” opening of the county bank that received so many people’s support and focus, the credit business of the bank fall into “silence” especially the support to offer credit assistance toward “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”. It is understood that the saving business is going higher and higher but the credit business has not had any case so far in Standard Chartered’s county bank since the formal open in the beginning of February. It is also reported by media that the reason why this condition will appear is not because there has no credit requirement. Domestic popular enterprise, Inner Mongolia Meng Niu Dairy (Group), just locates at Linger and because of this, Linger is also named “the capital of dairy”. Besides this, the pillar industry including starch producing company and processing company of beef and mutton also has great desire of credit and the economy of “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” in local area is very active. Facing to the local applicants who take vehicles from miles away to seek for capital support, Standard Chartered Bank just refuses them through raising the loan threshold. Local farmers have misunderstanding and disappointment about this.
A director of one village said that he was invited to join one panel discussion with other directors of local villages when the county bank just started. During that discussion, Standard Chartered Bank declared the complete different credit regulation: No lavish dinners and generous gifts. Farmers’ own curtilage, and farming fields can be the mortgage.
Standard Chartered Bank’s promise gives hope to those people who are struggling with lack of capital assistance. However, when they take their hope to apply for loans they get decline answer. As for this case, one relative staff of Standard Chartered Bank told us during an interview, “the reason why Standard Chartered has not granted the loans is that we need some time to understand the Industry Chain of local farmers; after that we will indicate them to deal with risk and create our own management of credit risk in county bank. We have to maintain the sustainability of commercial style when we take comprehensively research for credit service meeting with the desire of local market.
To financial organization, risk control seems the most preposterous excuse to decline credit application. It becomes the shield of foreign capital county banks to refuse farmers’ credit request. It is said that there is no one foreign financed TV bank grants personal loan to farmers.
Western banks have ulterior motives.
Lack of valid mortgage, high risk, high cost and low benefit are the long-standing problems for farmers to gain loan. Before the western banks set up their county banks, it is impossible for them to neglect those problems. Nevertheless, the foreign capital banks still have great favour to open new county banks at there when they have known the potential adventure. Why? Most of the insiders believe that western banks have ulterior motives not the agriculture. “they hope they can open new banks in major cities or district where has efficient funds or tremendous number of enterprises. But it is very difficult to gain approval from government and there has very serious competition among other banks. Therefore, as well as they respond to the call of support to ‘agriculture, rural areas and farmers’ that are backed by central government, they can enjoy the preferential policy; moreover, they can receive the advertisement function. So the county bank becomes their priority.”
There’s no smoke without fire. We might find some proves from the similar location selection of those county banks with foreign capital. The attempt of follow the big accounts and cooperate with local branches is becoming obviously. For instance, HSBC Group chose Xindong Rd. in Mi Yun district where has one economic development zone to open its county bank. That zone includes the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd, Jin Mai Lang Food Co., Ltd., Mando Corp and other famous enterprises.
Go back to Standard Chartered Bank’s case. In Linger, one relative banking person analysts “I believe that the Inner Mongolia Meng Niu Dairy (Group) is the target of Standard Chartered Bank. At Inner Mongolia, Linger County Bank is the only one base of Standard Chartered Bank. Even if it is a saving agency, Standard Chartered Bank can start its marketing to all big enterprises of Inner Mongolia. As for the request of supervision department, it is just a kind of modality.” It is understood that while Standard Chartered Bank and its county bank are declining farmers’ credit application they are maintain a close communication with the Inner Mongolia Meng Niu Dairy (Group) and other great enterprises.
The oldest western bank is the Zendu County Bank of HSBC Group. They showed their direction in origin that they serve for the big agricultural enterprises. President of the bank indicates obviously that they will offer relative credit service for the local export enterprises in the beginning. Mr. Yang Shenghong, president of Tongxing Agriculture Group is the first customer of Sui Zhou County Bank of HSBC Group. Tongxing Agriculture Group just locates at Sui Zhou Economic Development Zone where also has Wuhan Jianmin Pharmaceutical Groups Corp., Bird Group and other enterprises.
Supervision Department starts to rectify a deviation.
The inclination of “agriculture abandon” of western bank has aroused the serious attention of bureau of supervision. One person from China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) says when he accepts an interview of staff reporter that “to present condition, it does have inclination in serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers within the operation of foreign financed TV bank. CBRC has started to demand local supervision department to take overall monitoring toward all service system operation including the foreign capital county banks, other county banks and the new style agricultural financial organization. To surprise and urge their services go together with banking regulatory policy to contribute their greatest capital support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers especially the people who are badly in need of credit aid. On the basic of satisfaction of local economy of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, the banks can go further to grant loans to other enterprises or industries.”
This person also said CBRC has sent out guiding opinion to some foreign capital county banks to ask them for amendment of inclination with agriculture, rural areas and farmers; strengthen the credit business to support local agriculture, rural areas and farmers’ economic development. If not, CBRC will directly intervene the service operation system of the county banks through the relative compulsory policy behaviors. Fortunately, relative foreign capital county banks are amending their service system and we have the reason to believe they would come back on the track of offering financial channel to the “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”.
