On October 14th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the relevant situation of increasing support for enterprises. At the press conference, Deputy Director of the State Financial Regulatory Administration, Cong Lin, stated that the Financial Regulatory Administration has recently introduced a series of measures focusing on supporting enterprises, with the key aim of unblocking and removing obstacles in small and micro enterprise financing, optimizing the business environment, and smoothing financing channels, striving to maintain service quality and offer better pricing.

In terms of specific measures, the first is to optimize the policy of loan renewal without repayment of principal, helping business entities to alleviate difficulties in capital turnover. The scope of this policy is not only applicable to small and micro enterprises but also temporarily expanded to medium-sized enterprises. It needs to be emphasized again that eligible renewal loans should not be downgraded solely due to the factor of loan renewal. Banks should strengthen risk management, comprehensively consider the borrower's performance ability, guarantees, and other factors, and reasonably determine the risk classification of renewal loans.

Advertisement

The second measure is to establish a financing coordination work mechanism for small and micro enterprises in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission. The core of this mechanism is to establish a working group at the district and county level to build a bridge for precise bank-enterprise docking. On the enterprise side, it is necessary to fully understand the actual operating conditions of enterprises within the jurisdiction, to be "well-informed", to provide precise assistance, and to effectively solve the financing difficulties of enterprises. On the bank side, it is necessary to unblock the obstacles and bottlenecks in information transmission and capital transmission. We hope that enterprises that operate legally and in compliance, have real financing needs, and have good credit status can all obtain the funds needed for development through this mechanism. Moreover, this funding is direct, without intermediate links, and the financing cost is appropriate.

Deputy Director Cong Lin also introduced the financing coordination work mechanism for supporting small and micro enterprises from three dimensions: who to do it, how to do it, and what goals to achieve. She said that this mechanism is to give full play to the advantages of the Party's leadership and the system and mechanism of socialism with Chinese characteristics, strengthen the linkage between the central and local governments, exert efforts from both the supply and demand sides, and coordinate to solve the problems of financing difficulties for small and micro enterprises and loan difficulties for banks.

I. Main measures to help enterprises relieve difficulties and alleviate the financing difficulties of small and micro business entities

Small and micro enterprises are connected to thousands of households. The Financial Regulatory Administration, in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, especially following the spirit of the Central Political Bureau meeting on September 26th, continues to guide financial institutions to increase financial support for the real economy and continuously optimize financial services for various business entities. Recently, we have introduced a series of measures focusing on supporting enterprises. The focus of these measures is to unblock and remove obstacles in small and micro enterprise financing, optimize the business environment, and smooth financing channels, striving to maintain service quality and offer better pricing.

Let me first report a set of financial data for everyone. In terms of total volume, the supply scale is growing steadily. By the end of August this year, the balance of RMB loans was 252.02 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%; insurance companies provided various financing support of 28.8 trillion yuan through bonds, stocks, and other means. In terms of structure, the support for related key areas continues to increase. The balance of inclusive small and micro enterprise loans increased by 16.1% year-on-year, and the balance of private enterprise loans increased by 9% year-on-year. In terms of price, interest rates are stable and declining. From January to August this year, the interest rate of newly issued inclusive small and micro enterprise loans decreased by 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.

Let me introduce several specific measures to you.

The first measure is to optimize the policy of loan renewal without repayment of principal, helping business entities to alleviate difficulties in capital turnover. The scope of this policy is not only applicable to small and micro enterprises but also temporarily expanded to medium-sized enterprises. It needs to be emphasized again that eligible renewal loans should not be downgraded solely due to the factor of loan renewal. Banks should strengthen risk management, comprehensively consider the borrower's performance ability, guarantees, and other factors, and reasonably determine the risk classification of renewal loans.

The second measure is to establish a financing coordination work mechanism for small and micro enterprises in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission. The core of this mechanism is to establish a working group at the district and county level to build a bridge for precise bank-enterprise docking. On the enterprise side, it is necessary to fully understand the actual operating conditions of enterprises within the jurisdiction, to be "well-informed", to provide precise assistance, and to effectively solve the financing difficulties of enterprises. On the bank side, it is necessary to unblock the obstacles and bottlenecks in information transmission and capital transmission. We hope that enterprises that operate legally and in compliance, have real financing needs, and have good credit status can all obtain the funds needed for development through this mechanism. Moreover, this funding is direct, without intermediate links, and the financing cost is appropriate.The third measure is to further leverage the role of insurance in providing security. In areas such as construction projects and foreign trade exports, we are promoting the use of performance bond insurance and customs bond insurance to replace cash deposits. This measure has already helped 520,000 businesses to activate their existing funds and reduce the pressure of capital turnover in the first half of the year. At the same time, we are also promoting export credit insurance companies to adopt an integrated financial service approach of "credit protection + policy financing" to help many export companies reduce their concerns.

The fourth measure is to improve the due diligence exemption system. We all know that the key to improving financial services for small and micro enterprises is to relieve the burden on grassroots credit staff and create a positive atmosphere that encourages due diligence and responsibility. Therefore, we have recently further revised the original notice on due diligence exemption for inclusive credit, clarifying various scenarios for exemption. For personnel who have basically fulfilled their job responsibilities and only have minor faults, they can be exempted or reduced in responsibility. We have learned that many banks have already refined and improved their internal regulations in accordance with regulatory requirements, and the number and proportion of exempted personnel have increased.

In addition, regulatory work is more focused on precise regulation. On the premise of lawful and comprehensive regulation, for general and operational risks in the fields of inclusive finance such as serving small and micro enterprises, we will adopt more flexible and inclusive regulatory measures such as policy guidance, risk warnings, and urging rectification, integrating regulation into services, making regulation more warm, and improving the enthusiasm and initiative of financial institutions to implement policies to help enterprises, and jointly create a good environment for enterprise development.

II. Specific arrangements for the coordination mechanism to support small and micro enterprise financing

Small and micro enterprises play an important role in the economy, employment, and people's livelihoods. Based on sufficient research and drawing on the experience of relevant mechanisms, the Financial Regulatory Authority has taken the lead in establishing a coordination mechanism to support small and micro enterprise financing. This mechanism aims to give full play to the advantages of the Party's leadership and the system and mechanism of socialism with Chinese characteristics, strengthen the linkage between the central and local governments, and solve the problems of financing difficulties for small and micro enterprises and loan difficulties for banks from both the supply and demand sides. Recently, we will hold a special meeting for deployment. Next, I will introduce to the media from three dimensions: who to do it, how to do it, and what goals to achieve.

First is "who to do it". At the national level, the Financial Regulatory Authority and the National Development and Reform Commission will take the lead, with relevant departments and banking institutions participating, responsible for overall coordination and scheduling, strengthening the connection and coordination of industrial policies, fiscal and tax policies, and financial policies, to better form a policy synergy multiplier effect. At the local level, provinces, cities, and districts and counties should establish corresponding working mechanisms, refine plans according to local conditions, and ensure the implementation of various work tasks in the local area. Especially at the district and county level, a working group should be established to organize visits to enterprises, demand investigation, and financing recommendations. At the bank level, a working group will also be established to mobilize internal resources, play the enthusiasm of grassroots institutions to lend and be willing to lend, and actively and timely connect with the financing needs of small and micro enterprises.

The second is "how to do it". Districts and counties are the closest to the grassroots and the most understanding of enterprises, and they are the key and basic unit for the implementation and effectiveness of the mechanism. Therefore, the working group of districts and counties should hold both hands, one hand holding enterprises and the other hand holding banks. Organize relevant commissions, offices, streets, townships, and banking institutions to carry out visit activities, specifically, to investigate the operating conditions and financing needs of small and micro enterprises, publicize policies to help enterprises, reduce the "temperature difference" between policies and enterprise perception, and push eligible small and micro enterprises to banks. Banks should make credit decisions according to market-oriented and rule-of-law principles, as well as their own credit approval conditions, to provide financial support for enterprises. In summary, these conditions are simple and clear, that is, as long as small and micro enterprises operate in compliance and continuously, have a fixed place of business, are in good operating condition, and have real financing needs, and the loan purpose is compliant, they can obtain the funds needed for development through this mechanism.

Finally, "what goals to achieve". We hope to achieve these three goals: First, to reach the grassroots. Low-cost credit funds should reach the grassroots directly, and unblock the "last mile" of benefiting enterprises and the people. Second, fast and convenient. Banks should原则上 make a decision on whether to grant credit within one month. For eligible enterprises, banks should open green channels, optimize processes, and speed up processing. Third, the interest rate is appropriate. By saving the cost of information collection, reducing intermediate links, reducing lending costs and additional fees, the overall comprehensive financing cost for small and micro enterprises is reduced.