China is preparing rules to tackle risks from shadow finance by curbing the issuance and portfolio mix of “wealth management products” that have fuelled the huge increase in Chinese corporate debt since 2008.

中国正在起草规则，通过遏制“理财产品”的发行和投资组合，以化解影子银行风险。自2008年以来，理财产品推动中国企业债务大幅激增。

WMPs, which allow banks to channel credit to local governments, property developers and overcapacity industries struggling to access normal bank loans, have surged from Rmb1.7tn ($255bn) at the end of 2009 to Rmb23.5tn ($3.53tn) by the end of last year, according to Wind Information.

理财产品让银行可以向地方政府、房地产开发商，以及难以获得正常银行贷款的产能过剩行业输送信贷。据万得资讯(Wind Information)数据，理财产品从2009年底的1.7万亿元人民币（2550亿美元），去年底飙升至23.5万亿元人民币（合3.53万亿元美元）。

By recording WMPs off-balance-sheet, or by classifying them as “investments” rather than loans, banks are able to report higher capital adequacy ratios and set aside less provisions against bad loans.

通过将理财产品列为资产负债表外项目，或归类为“投资”而不是贷款，银行可以报告更高的资本充足率，并减少不良贷款拨备。

The China Banking Regulatory Commission has drafted rules that would limit the size of lenders’ WMP issuance based on their total balance sheet or deposits, 21st Century Business Herald reported this week. The draft rules also restrict the share of equities and so-called “non-standard” assets — mainly illiquid loans — within a single WMP. If adopted, the change would force WMPs to rely more on bonds and money-market assets, which are less risky but offer lower yields.

据《21世纪经济报道》(21st Century Business Herald)本周报道，中国银行业监督管理委员(China Banking Regulatory Commission)已起草相关规则，将基于银行资产负债和存款限制其理财产品发放规模。草案还限制股票和所谓“非标”资产——主要是缺乏流动性的资产——在一支理财产品内的比例。如果草案通过，这一变动将迫使理财产品更多依靠债券和货币市场资产，后者风险较小，但提供的收益率较低。

The rules would also forbid banks from issuing structured products made up of multiple tranches, each with different levels of risk. Multi-tranche products have become increasingly popular, with subordinate tranches using leverage to increase yields. Structured WMPs channelling funds into the stock market helped fuel last year’s boom and bust.

规定或许还将禁止银行发行由不同风险水平的多种资产组成的结构化产品。分级产品已变得越来越受欢迎，其中的次级资产使用杠杆提高其收益。将资金输入股市的结构化理财产品，曾助长了去年股市的泡沫及其破裂。

WMPs have also added significant complexity to China’s financial system, creating difficulties for assessing risk. Rating agency Moody’s warned this week that data from China’s central bank on “total social financing”, which is meant to capture corporate and household credit from all sources, understates economy-wide leverage by Rmb16tn. Loans packaged into WMPs are the biggest sources of hidden credit, with small and midsize lenders most active.

理财产品还大大增加了中国金融体系的复杂性，为风险评估制造了困难。就在本周，评级机构穆迪(Moody's)曾警告称，来自中国央行的“社会融资总量”数据，对整个中国经济体内的杠杆低估程度达到16万亿元人民币，而该指标原本旨在衡量所有来源的企业和家庭信贷。被打包成理财产品的贷款，正是隐形信贷的最大来源，而中小银行则扮演着其中最积极的角色。

Finally, the regulations would restrict banks’ ability to partner with non-bank financial institutions such as brokerages, fund management companies, and insurers to move loans off their books.

最后，该监管规定或将限制银行与券商、基金管理公司和保险公司等非银行类金融机构合作、以便把贷款从账目表移除的能力。

Industry observers caution that the draft rules are subject to change and that much depends on enforcement.

业内观察人士提醒说，这一规定草案还会更改，而且它在很大程度上要看实施情况。