lunes, 12 de junio de 2017

lunes, junio 12, 2017

Chinese Banks Face Up to Funding Squeeze

Household deposits, long the foundation of China’s economy, are fleeing the banking system

By Anjani Trivedi


Beijing is squeezing its financial system. Its banks may soon find themselves gasping for breath.

Household deposits—long the backbone of China’s economy, funding inexorable loan growth—are fleeing: Around 1.2 trillion yuan ($180 billion) left the banking system last month. Meanwhile, growth in corporate deposits has slowed, reducing the rise in deposits overall to a crawl.

The exodus is proving a double whammy for China’s banks. Not only are they losing a stable source of funding, they are also bearing the brunt of higher costs to raise cash as financial conditions tighten.

Much of the money pulled out of conventional deposits is being invested in the rapidly multiplying population of investment funds, which offer higher rates. Yu’e Bao, run by Alibaba-backed Ant Financial, has become one of the world’s biggest money-market funds—with $165 billion under management—offering investors a 7-day annualized rate of over 4%.

Ironically, it and other funds are achieving such returns by investing in financing tools issued by banks. When China liberalized deposit rates in 2015, banks started churning out new investment products, including so-called negotiable certificates of deposit. Issuance of these short-term products in April totaled $180 billion, up 60% from a year earlier. Their relatively high rates—up to 4% or 5%—have made them attractive to money-market funds like Yu’e Bao.

But the upshot for banks is that stable deposits on which they pay just 1.5%—the benchmark rate—are being converted into flighty funds on which they must pay up to 5%. And even this source of funding may dry up. Last month, Yu’e Bao capped the size of new investments, likely under pressure from regulators alarmed at its rapid growth.

Adding another constraint on liquidity, government deposits into the banking system are slowing. All the same, banks are pushing out ever-more loans to companies and households: The system’s total loan-to-deposit ratio, a measure of liquidity, is nearing 80%, its highest level in over a decade.

With most avenues of funding becoming expensive, investors should wonder where the banks will turn next.

0 comments:

Publicar un comentario