China’s banks are in a deepening stand-off with regulators over the level of provisions they must make to protect against loan defaults as bad debts continue to climb.

随着中国银行业的坏账不断攀升，各银行与监管机构在拨备覆盖率水平问题上产生的对峙正在加深。

While institutions are required to maintain provisions of at least 150 per cent of non-performing loans, the largest banks are pressing for looser rules through a mixture of public lobbying and private defiance.

尽管各家银行的拨备覆盖率被要求保持在至少150%，但几家大银行正通过公开游说和私下违抗等方式，促使监管机构放松这方面的规定。

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has flouted the rule for three consecutive quarters and an executive told the Financial Times that the bank would find it difficult to come back into compliance.

中国工商银行(ICBC)已连续三个季度无视这一规定，一名高管向英国《金融时报》表示，该行很难在这方面回到合规状态。

Raising loan loss provisions will affect profit growth, and [raising] profits is our biggest task right now, said the executive, who wished to remain anonymous.

这名希望匿名的高管表示：提高拨备覆盖率将影响利润增长，而目前我们最大的任务是（提高）利润。

The pressure of non-performing [loans] is very great.

不良（贷款）的压力太大了。

We need the reserves we made in previous years to resolve them.

我们需要用前几年拨出的准备金来解决它们。

Considering these two points, it is difficult to raise loan loss reserves.

考虑到这两点，提高拨备覆盖率是有难度的。

Officially, 1.8 per cent of all Chinese loans are non-performing,

官方数据显示，在中国的全部贷款中，不良贷款占1.8%。

although the credit rating agency Fitch puts the true figure at more than 15 per cent.

但信用评级机构惠誉(Fitch)认为，真实的数字超过了15%。

Following a huge credit boom, the outstanding amount of non-performing loans doubled in the two years before June 2016, reaching Rmb1.4tn

经历一轮大规模信贷繁荣之后，中国不良贷款余额在2016年6月前的两年里增长了一倍，达到1.4万亿元人民币。

In a recent macroprudential assessment by the central bank, ICBC was docked points for flouting the loan loss provision ratio target,

在中国央行最近开展的宏观审慎评估中，工行因无视拨备覆盖率目标被扣了分。

but in the third quarter its coverage ratio fell further to 136 per cent from 143 per cent in the previous three months.

然而，今年第三季度，该行的拨备覆盖率却从上一季度的143%进一步下滑至136%。

Bank of China, another of China’s big four state-owned lenders, fell short of the 150 per cent standard in the first quarter.

今年第一季度，中国四大国有银行中的另一家——中国银行(BoC)——也没有达到150%的标准。

The banks may be flouting the rules in anticipation that they will be changed.

银行无视这方面的规定，或许是因为它们预计这些规定将被修改。

Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s central bank governor, has said that he favours a countercyclical regulatory framework,

中国央行行长周小川已表示，他青睐逆周期性监管架构。

which would demand high provisions during economic booms to discourage overlending, but which would loosen standards during recessions to support the flow of credit to the economy.

这种架构会在经济繁荣期要求更高的拨备、以抑制过度放贷，但在衰退期却会放松标准、以支撑流向实体经济的信贷流。

Some analysts have interpreted this to mean that China’s banking regulations are about to be loosened.

部分分析师对这一表态的解读是，它意味着中国对银行业的监管将会放松。

But while China is heading into an economic slowdown, credit growth is still booming, meaning that it is not clear whether countercyclical regulation implies tightening or loosening.

不过，尽管中国正走向经济放缓，信贷增长却依然很猛，这意味着目前仍不清楚逆周期性监管到底指的是收紧还是放松。

Setting standards is a tussle between the banks and the regulators, said Zhang Yingchao, banking analyst at NSBO China, an investment bank.

投行蓝橡资本中国(NSBO China)银行业分析师张颖超（音译）表示：标准的设定是银行与监管机构之间的一场角力。

Who gets the upper hand depends on the state of the economy.

谁会占上风取决于经济的状况。

If increasing the credit supply is necessary to meet the growth target of 6.5-7 per cent, then the regulators will need to relax standards.

如果为了实现6.5%到7%的增长目标有必要增加信贷供应，那么监管机构就需要放松标准。

Wang Hongzhang, chairman of China Construction Bank, another big four institution, told Bloomberg this year it would be reasonable and possible for the regulators to lower the standard to between 120 and 130 per cent.

另一家四大行中国建设银行(China Construction Bank)的董事长王洪章今年曾向彭博社(Bloomberg)表示，监管机构将拨备覆盖率标准降至120%到130%是合理且可行的。

Bank of China’s research institute published a report last year recommending that the loan-loss provision ratio be lowered from 150 to 100 per cent.

中行的研究机构去年曾发布一份报告，建议把拨备覆盖率红线从150%降至100%。

Banks also argue that many other countries require loan-loss provisions of 100 per cent or less,

银行还声称，其他许多国家的银行坏账拨备覆盖率要求为100%甚至更低。

although some observers say there are reasons for imposing a higher number in China.

不过，部分观察人士表示，中国要求较高的拨备覆盖率是有道理的。

David Yin of Moody’s, the credit rating agency, said: Chinese banks may have material amounts of problem loans that are not formally classified as non-performing, as evidenced by the rising discrepancy between banks’ overdue loan ratios and NPL ratios.

信用评级机构穆迪(Moody's)的David Yin表示：银行逾期贷款比率与不良贷款比率之间的出入越来越大，这表明，中国的银行可能存在大量未被正式归类为不良贷款的问题贷款。

The 150 per cent coverage ratio requirement urges banks to maintain more provisions and helps mitigate the NPL classification issue.

150%的拨备覆盖率要求，会促使银行维持较高的拨备，有助于缓和这一不良贷款归类问题。