Since June, in just over two months, risk incidents in the P2P online lending market have continued to break out. Starting from Tang Xiaoseng’s “escape” incident, Touzhijia was suspected of The climax of the fund-raising fraud was a drama of ups and downs of risks. Some people call this round of P2P online lending crisis a "thunder wave", and some call it a "thunderstorm season." However, no matter what, the P2P online lending industry is experiencing an unprecedented test and challenge.
With recent statements from regulatory agencies, industry associations and mainstream media, this wave of trends will surely recede, and the P2P online lending market will gradually stabilize. At present, while all walks of life are reflecting on the reasons for this trend, in fact, we should face up to the inspiration left to us after the trend and the future path of the P2P online loan market.
Just as the stock god Warren Buffett once said, "When the tide goes out, you will know who is swimming naked." When the tide of P2P online lending recedes, there are still many problems left for us to think about and face.
The Thunder Wave itself is a process of removing the false and preserving the true. After the big wave washes away the sand, the formal compliance platform still needs to forge ahead. The specific forms of "explosion" of hundreds of P2P platforms that have experienced problems recently include various forms of "explosion", including executives or actual controllers losing contact and running away, declaring bankruptcy due to the large amount of overdue debt on the platform, voluntarily announcing liquidation and withdrawal due to the deterioration of the market environment, and even Due to investor reports, the company was directly investigated and banned.
However, no matter what form it takes, most of the above platforms have problems of one kind or another, which are mainly concentrated in the accumulation of risks caused by hidden dangers such as self-financing and related guarantees on some platforms; insufficient risk control capabilities of some platforms, Borrowers are seriously overdue; some platforms still have a large number of illegal businesses and have set up fund pools with serious maturity mismatches; some platforms' own financial conditions have deteriorated and their capital chains have broken; there are also some fund-raising fraud or illegal deposit-taking platforms disguised as P2P online loans.
It can be seen that there is nothing incomprehensible about the current "thunder tide" in the market. In fact, it is a normal market clearing, which is in line with the basic laws of market economy and the law of survival of the fittest. But it is undeniable that the negative impact of this trend has gradually spread to formal online lending platforms, causing investors to reduce their investment confidence in the P2P industry, which has had a certain impact on the healthy development of the industry.
For regulatory agencies, in addition to preventing financial risks and regulating industry development, how to build a fair and benign market environment and how to create an ecology of "supporting the good and limiting the bad" is the most important thing after this trend. thinking.
For compliance platforms, how to not forget the "original intention" of inclusive finance, adhere to the hard-won market position, and safeguard the interests of every borrower and investor has become the platform's top priority The top priority before you.
The thunderstorm cannot obliterate the inclusive value of Internet finance. Convenient and fast investment and financing channels are the greatest wealth brought by mutual finance. At the beginning of the birth of Internet finance, its core concept is to fill the objects or areas that traditional financial institutions cannot, are unwilling or do not want to serve. Although its service objects may have higher risk characteristics, it is undeniable that the asset side of Internet finance is more Close to small and micro businesses and individuals.
During this thunderstorm, some online lending platforms experienced a large number of overdue payments. This has a lot to do with the current macroeconomic situation and risk control capabilities, but it also shows from another aspect that online lending platforms It is indeed serving small and micro enterprises and is closely related to the real economy. According to third-party data, P2P online lending has met the needs of about 25 million borrowers, and the cumulative loan amount is about 7.2 trillion yuan. If false or self-financing is deducted, there is at least 5 trillion-6 trillion yuan in financial support. It has met real capital needs and at the same time created more than 400 billion yuan in income for tens of millions of investors.
Some people say that the rapid popularity of smartphones has brought opportunities for China's economic transformation and upgrading. Similarly, the emergence of Internet finance has gradually formed a group of people in Chinese society who are willing and like to use mobile financing, investment and financial management. Customer groups are an important asset for the further innovative development of China's financial market.
The essence of Internet finance is still finance, which requires a license to operate, and the entry threshold needs to be raised. The business essence of Internet finance is finance, which has been basically recognized by all parties.
In accordance with the current management concept put forward by regulatory agencies that “any financial business requires a license”, Internet finance also requires a license to operate. The specific performance since the special rectification of Internet financial risks and the current thunderstorm in the online lending industry have shown that the filing system is not enough to mitigate and reduce risks.
In view of the current positioning of P2P online lending information intermediaries, it is recommended to establish an "online lending information intermediary license" so that platforms that meet regulatory requirements can be registered as soon as possible and operate with a license. Under this license management, substantive reviews will be conducted on online lending platforms’ paid-in capital, shareholder qualifications, risk control capabilities and senior management qualifications, etc., in order to raise the industry threshold. At the same time, we will strictly investigate and deal with enterprises that are unable to obtain qualifications and operate without licenses, so that all laws must be followed.
Internet finance requires more complete financial infrastructure, and credit reporting systems, creditor's rights registration and data statistics are key. At present, the lack of necessary credit data support has become one of the important reasons restricting the healthy development of the P2P online lending industry.
Since the current Internet financial platform cannot be connected with the central bank’s credit data, it is difficult to eliminate the existence of long-term lending, joint fraudulent loans, loan-facilitating illegal industries, and wool parties from the source. At the same time, the malicious default of some borrowers exposed in this thunderstorm also shows that due to the inability to access the central bank's credit system, the lack of necessary disciplinary pressure and effective measures for online loan defaulters, the cost of violating laws and regulations is too low.
Focusing on financial infrastructure, it is recommended to establish and operate the Baihang Credit Information System led by the China Internet Finance Association as soon as possible to form a credit information database for the mutual financial industry, and rely on this to connect with the central bank's credit information data .
It is recommended to refer to private equity fund management practices and establish a unified creditor's rights and debt registration system for the online lending industry so that investors, borrowers and regulatory agencies can have evidence to follow. It is recommended that under the guidance of comprehensive statistical work in the financial industry, a unified information statistics and reporting platform for the mutual financial industry be established, which will not only facilitate the formation of industry standards, but also facilitate the implementation of industry supervision. At the same time, in response to current problems such as poor fund depository and payment channels for P2P online loans, policy fund depository channels and clearing platforms can be tentatively established to reduce the operating costs of mutual financial platforms and transfer more profits to small and micro enterprises.
Support the development of financial technology and give full play to the empowerment capabilities and international competitiveness of financial technology. While rationally guiding the P2P online lending industry to more solidly serve individuals and small and micro enterprise groups, mutual financial companies should be encouraged to enhance their digital inclusive service capabilities and emphasize technological innovation rather than regulatory arbitrage innovation. On this basis, mutual financial companies should be further encouraged to strengthen cooperation with the outside world, especially with traditional industries and traditional financial institutions.
When financial technology directly empowers traditional industrial chains, supply chain finance will exert its ability to serve small and micro enterprises with its unique risk control model. When financial technology directly empowers small and medium-sized banks, it will produce a catfish effect, activate the vitality of small and medium-sized banks, promote their transformation and upgrading, and build a multi-level banking system.
Of course, for regulatory agencies, more cooperation mechanisms and institutional frameworks should be provided, such as joint lending, loan assistance cooperation, risk control and post-loan service outsourcing, etc., to guide various institutions in cooperation. To achieve mutual benefit and mutual assistance under the premise of regulation.
The rapid development of large-scale Internet financial companies has also brought China's financial technology strength to international standards.
After several years of hard work, China's Internet finance is at the forefront of the world or in the first echelon in terms of scale, technology and model, representing the trend of global financial technology development. Therefore, support measures should be introduced to encourage mutual financial companies to expand overseas business, export financial technology capabilities, and achieve a larger platform structure.
Build a long-term supervision mechanism for Internet finance, form a front, middle and back supervision system, and achieve the integration of supervision and incentives.
The current special rectification work on Internet financial risks is a regulatory measure with phased characteristics. Its core purpose is to resolve and mitigate existing risks. However, for long-term development, it is more important to build a long-term mechanism for Internet financial supervision.
At present, the regulatory framework of the P2P online lending market has been initially formed, but in terms of actual results, it is still lacking. Registration and filing, bank custody and information disclosure are more reflected in prior management. Risk warning monitoring of the platform's schedule operations should be further strengthened, and guidance and management of the platform's crisis handling and exit guidance should be strengthened.
At the same time, tax incentives, interest subsidies and other incentive measures should also be provided to compliant information intermediaries that support the development of inclusive finance and assist small and micro enterprises in financing, so as to truly reduce the financing costs of small and micro enterprises and give full play to the Internet. The inclusive role of finance.
Establish a multi-level financial market, encourage Internet financial companies to transform and upgrade, and give greater play to the ability of finance to serve the real economy. The positioning of the information intermediary of the P2P online lending platform is in line with the attributes of financial technology, and it also facilitates risk management and industry supervision, helping to prevent, control and resolve existing risks under the current situation. However, it is undeniable that the positioning of information intermediaries cannot eliminate the risk characteristics of the industry itself, cannot completely solve the problem of information asymmetry, and cannot become an excuse to stay outside supervision.
More importantly, the positioning of information intermediaries highlights the characteristics of the platform model and the characteristics of economies of scale. From a total point of view, there must be a ceiling in the number of institutions. This is also the reason for the outbreak of this thunderstorm. A large number of small An important logic for institutions to withdraw from the market.
The United Kingdom and the United States are also exploring the transformation of P2P online lending platforms. For example, Zopa in the UK is already applying for a banking license, and the United States has officially issued small bank or community bank licenses to mutual financial intermediaries.
Therefore, when the special rectification of Internet financial risks comes to an end and the compliance and legal platforms pass the filing, can we consider providing the following three alternative paths for P2P online lending platforms:
First , for platforms that have the advantages of the intermediary platform model and have the ability to connect large-scale funds and assets, issue online lending information intermediary licenses and supervise them according to the positioning of information intermediaries or financial matching service companies.
Second, institutions with stronger financial strength and risk management capabilities are allowed to apply for online small loans or even quasi-financial licenses, and they are supervised in accordance with the requirements of credit intermediaries.
Third, companies with technological innovation capabilities and Internet operating genes are allowed to cooperate with financial institutions or other institutions, and they are supervised in accordance with the requirements of technology companies or financial services companies.
Only through classified development and classified supervision can we avoid "one-size-fits-all" supervision, effectively guide Internet financial institutions to support small and micro enterprises, enrich and improve multi-level financial markets, and avoid homogeneous competition. , to achieve the development goal of inclusive finance that serves the real economy.