In developing countries, credit service intermediaries are generally established by banks, and their main shareholders include commercial banks, insurance companies and securities companies. The business of credit service intermediaries mainly includes credit rating, credit investigation and consulting business. Among them, credit services for enterprises and individuals are usually separated, that is, they are operated by different institutions. There are also some countries or regions in the process of development, credit intermediaries provide both corporate credit and personal credit services. Credit intermediaries generally adopt corporate operation mode, and some credit intermediaries have become listed companies, such as Indian Credit Rating Information Service Company (CRISL). With the continuous development of the domestic market, credit intermediaries in many countries have carried out equity reform and introduced more powerful new shareholders to enhance their own strength.
In the process of building credit intermediaries, developing countries will generally cooperate with large international companies, or allow these companies to set up branches in China, or introduce the management and technology of these companies, carry out strategic cooperation or form joint ventures. For example, Thailand's rating and information service companies initially received technical support from Standard & Poor's Group for three years in developing their credit rating methods and management models; Thailand Rating and Information Service Company also has a three-year strategic partnership agreement with Fitch in expanding the knowledge and skills of credit rating of new debt instruments and conducting interest rate research on investors. Credit intermediaries in India, Malaysia and the Philippines also had strategic cooperation with internationally renowned companies such as Standard & Poor's in the early stage of development, and some intermediaries also introduced these companies as company shareholders. Cooperation with large international companies is helpful to improve the technology, management and service level of credit intermediaries in developing countries, but due to the sensitivity of credit information, the shares of foreign companies in joint ventures are usually not high.
As far as the number of credit intermediaries is concerned, there are some differences among countries. For example, in the credit rating industry, there are more than one credit rating agency in India, Indonesia and other countries. However, in many countries, there is a trend to establish only one credit rating agency in China.
Background of credit intermediary service industry
Credit intermediary service industry is also called credit industry. The credit industry in China does not exist at all. It was formed at a certain stage with the development of reform and opening up and the objective requirements of market economy. The credit industry in China came into being in the late 1980s. At that time, after nearly 10 years of reform and opening-up, China's foreign trade has made great progress, but at the same time, there have been some problems that cannot be ignored, that is, the urgency of some foreign businessmen using China to attract foreign investment has harmed the interests of China's foreign trade, especially the problem that a large number of overdue accounts receivable in China's foreign trade cannot be recovered. In order to avoid the credit risk in foreign trade, MOFTEC decided to introduce foreign credit risk management technologies and services to China. First, the calculation center of MOFTEC cooperates with famous foreign credit reporting companies to provide credit reporting services for foreign trade enterprises in China, which has played an important role in better understanding the overseas credit situation and reducing various credit risks in foreign trade transactions, and also sowed the seeds for the emergence of credit intermediary services in China.
199 1 year, under the direct leadership of the State Council, the former the State Council production office organized and carried out activities to clean up the "triangle debt" and "year of quality, variety and benefit", and made efforts to solve the problems of business behavior and economic order that restricted development. In accordance with the unified arrangements of the State Council, governments at all levels have taken a series of measures to solve the problems of debt default and low product quality (in essence, credit problems), from which they gradually realize the deep-seated problems existing in China's economic system from the perspective of financial accounting system and market rules. Subsequently 1993 promulgated the General Principles of Financial Accounting Standards, 1994 implemented the Company Law, 1995 implemented the Commercial Bank Law, the Guarantee Law and the Arbitration Law, and 1999 promulgated them uniformly.
Generally speaking, China's credit industry has experienced a process from scratch, from simple to complex, gradually subdividing the industry, gradually improving the professional level of the industry and gradually improving the market credit institutions in a short period of more than ten years. The current situation of China's credit industry can be described in four sentences: the market is maturing and the market scale is expanding; The business concentration of credit institutions is getting higher and higher, and the entry threshold is getting higher and higher; The credit information environment has been greatly improved, but the information transparency is still not high; The credit policy environment has not changed substantially, and it is in urgent need of improvement by various government departments.
Development of credit intermediary service industry
The credit intermediary service industry in China mainly includes the following major industries: credit investigation, credit evaluation, credit guarantee, credit factoring insurance, commercial collection and so on. Here, the status quo, problems and development characteristics of these industries are analyzed.
1, Credit Information and Credit Industry
Credit information is the most basic industry in the credit information industry. At present, there are more than 200 companies engaged in credit investigation in China, including more than 40 companies including Xinhua Credit Risk Management Co., Ltd., Huaxia International Enterprise Credit Consulting Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Shangzhong Credit Investigation Co., Ltd. The second category is the foreign trade and economic cooperation system, the national statistical system and the national industrial and commercial management system, as well as relevant institutions specialized in providing enterprise credit investigation services under various commercial banking systems. The third category is foreign credit companies that have entered China, such as Dunbar Company, China Taiwan Province Credit Bureau, and Gangcheng Consulting Co., Ltd., all of which have set up branches in Chinese mainland to provide corporate credit services. After several years of development, some foreign credit reporting agencies have occupied domestic enterprises. The development of credit information industry in China has the following characteristics:
(1) The market-oriented operation mode has basically taken shape.
The enterprise credit service industry in China started under the impetus of the government. Different types of credit reporting companies compete in the market according to the principle of commercialization and provide objective and independent credit reporting to the society. The credit reporting agencies under some administrative organs have basically adopted a market-oriented approach in their business operations. The market-oriented operation mode of China's enterprise credit information industry has basically taken shape.
(2) Market concentration has been gradually improved.
Although there are nearly 100 credit information companies in the domestic credit information market at present, after several years of fierce competition, the concentration of the credit information market is relatively high in terms of business volume and credit information scale. Companies such as Xinhua Credit Risk Management Co., Ltd., Huaxia International Enterprise Credit Consulting Co., Ltd., Dunbar Consulting Shanghai Co., Ltd. of the United States, and China Branch of Taiwan Province China Credit Bureau have occupied about 80% of the total market share in China, while other types of companies account for less than 20%. In addition, some commercial banks have carried out the credit investigation work of loan enterprises on their own, and set up their own credit investigation departments accordingly, which also occupy part of the credit investigation market.
(3) The scale of institutions is generally small, and the quality of employees is not high.
The annual income of several large credit information companies is only about 654.38+0 billion yuan, which is far from the annual income of large credit information companies around the world of about 654.38+0 billion dollars. For example, D&B Company achieved an output value of $26,543.8 billion in 1998. On the other hand, China's enterprise credit reporting agencies have fewer employees, and the largest number of companies are only a few hundred, usually dozens. Moreover, the quality of these employees is uneven, and the proportion of college education or above is not high, which seriously affects the further development of China's enterprise credit information industry.
2. Credit rating industry
The development of credit evaluation industry in China began in the late 1980s. At that time, with the continuous development of the domestic bond market and the frequent monetary lending relationships (indirect financing enterprises), the demand for social credit management was increasing, and some local branches of the People's Bank of China set up internal credit evaluation departments. Since then, China's credit rating agencies have grown from scratch.
The development of credit evaluation industry in China has the following characteristics:
(1) The credit evaluation business has been continuously expanded.
China's credit evaluation business began with bond rating. It is confirmed that nine institutions including China Chengxin Securities Appraisal Co., Ltd. are qualified for corporate bond credit evaluation, and it is clearly stipulated that corporate bond issuers must obtain the credit rating of corporate bond credit rating agencies recognized by the head office of the People's Bank of China before issuing bonds. In recent years, especially after the Asian financial crisis, in order to control the loan risk, the branches of the People's Bank of China require commercial banks to rate enterprises with loans exceeding 654.38 billion yuan, in addition to the loan review department of the bank, and at the same time, the independent rating company designated by the branches of the People's Bank of China. In order to improve the influence of the credit evaluation industry.
(2) The system construction of credit evaluation industry has a certain foundation.
1993, the State Council issued a document pointing out that corporate bonds must be rated by credit, and corporate bonds with capital above 1 100 million yuan should be evaluated by national rating agencies. In the Decision of the Central Committee on Several Issues Concerning the Establishment of the Socialist Market Economic System, it is also clearly stated that "the capital market should actively and steadily develop bond and stock financing, establish bond issuers and bond credit rating systems, and promote the healthy development of the bond market". In some specific management measures, the relevant provisions of credit evaluation are more clear. For example, the General Principles of Loans stipulates that "the credit rating of a borrower shall be evaluated according to the lender's leadership quality, economic strength, capital structure, performance, operating efficiency, development prospects and other factors. The rating can be independently conducted by the lender, mastered internally, or conducted by an evaluation agency recognized by relevant departments. " The "Measures for the Administration of Loan Certificates" formulated by the People's Bank of China stipulates that "the credit rating conclusions made by credit rating agencies to enterprises can be used as a reference for financial institutions to provide loans to enterprises." The promulgation of a series of policies, regulations and management measures laid the foundation for the initial establishment of the institutional framework of the credit evaluation industry.
(3) The credit evaluation method and index system are initially established.
From 65438 to 0992, after many discussions, the preparatory group of China Credit Rating Association formulated the Measures for Bond Credit Rating in June 1992, established China's own rating index system and method, and laid the foundation for China's credit rating system.
3. Credit guarantee industry
Credit guarantee industry is a new industry in China, which is the product of reform and opening up and the development of market economy. Credit guarantee institutions are an important part of the promotion system for the socialized development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and are also the main policy means for the government to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises at present. The credit guarantee institutions for small and medium-sized enterprises in China account for about 90% of all guarantee institutions, which are mainly established by local economic and trade commissions in conjunction with finance, banks and other departments, and the guarantee funds are mainly allocated by local government budgets. The second is mutual insurance. Mutual guarantee institutions are self-established guarantee institutions for small and medium-sized enterprises to alleviate loan difficulties. Its main purpose and characteristics are self-investment, self-service, independent legal person, at your own risk, and unprofitable. This category accounts for about 5% of all guarantee institutions. The third is commercial guarantee. Commercial guarantee institutions are generally funded by enterprises and social individuals. Commercial guarantee companies are characterized by independent legal persons, commercial operation, profit-making, investment and other commercial businesses. This category accounts for about 5% of all guarantee institutions. The development of credit guarantee industry in China has the following characteristics:
(1) started with financing guarantee for small and medium-sized enterprises and developed rapidly.
Since the mid-1990s, in the process of promoting the reform of market economy, the problem of "financing difficulties" of small and medium-sized enterprises in China has aroused widespread concern in society and attached great importance to by the municipal government. In order to enhance the financing ability of small and medium-sized enterprises, an important measure for governments at all levels to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises is to establish special guarantee institutions to help small and medium-sized enterprises solve their own credit shortage. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 100 SME mutual guarantee institutions and commercial guarantee institutions engaged in SME guarantee business in China. These guarantee institutions basically serve small and medium-sized enterprises in their regions. The acceleration of the construction of credit guarantee system has alleviated the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises to some extent and promoted the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Therefore, from a national perspective, it can be said that China's guarantee industry started from the financing guarantee of small and medium-sized enterprises and developed very rapidly.
(2) The legal system of credit guarantee was initially established.
The distortion of social credit in the transitional period is a serious problem that restricts the healthy and effective operation of China's market economy and hinders the adjustment of industrial structure and the commercialization of state-owned banks. In order to standardize credit behavior and promote financial intermediary and commodity circulation, China promulgated and implemented the Guarantee Law in 1995. From June, 5438 to February, 2000, in order to correctly apply the guarantee law, the Supreme People's Court formulated the Judicial Interpretation on Several Issues of the Guarantee Law, which further standardized the guarantee behavior. China has initially established a guarantee legal system with contract law and civil law as the basic laws, guarantee law as the core and the Supreme People's Court judicial interpretation as the supplement. In addition, the legislation of property law related to guarantee law has also been put on the agenda.
(3) Lack of capital is a restrictive factor for the development of the guarantee industry in China.
The average size of guarantee institutions in China is close to 20 million RMB. Due to the lack of capital, it is difficult to carry out the guarantee business on a large scale, and it is difficult to resist the risk when there is a big credit risk. In addition, the design and development of guarantee varieties and the control of guarantee risks are realized through professional technology, expert team and experience. For example, in order to control risks, it is necessary to guarantee by stages according to the progress of the project and the performance reputation of the developer, dynamically predict the risk factors in the guarantee stage, and renegotiate the guarantee terms. The lack of professional knowledge and experience has seriously restricted the development of China's guarantee industry.
4. Credit factoring and insurance industry
Credit factoring refers to a comprehensive service that both buyers and sellers transfer or sell accounts receivable creditor's rights to banks according to the sales contracts and related agreements, and obtain trade financing, accounts receivable management and creditor's rights recovery services. According to different parties, factoring business can be divided into international factoring and domestic factoring. According to the characteristics and risk degree of factoring business, it can be divided into the following three categories: (1) financing factoring and non-financing factoring. (2) Open factoring and hidden factoring. (3) recourse factoring and non-recourse factoring. China's factoring business is in the development stage, with low business volume and limited development area, but international factoring has its unique advantages, which is of great significance to enhance the international competitiveness of Chinese enterprises.
The owner of credit insurance mainly refers to export credit insurance, which is a kind of insurance that specifically covers the losses suffered by enterprises in export business due to overseas commercial risks and political risks. Its main purpose is to reduce the risk of exporters and stimulate exports. China's export credit insurance developed in the late 1980s. 1989, the state instructed China People's Insurance Company to handle export credit insurance business, which was mainly short-term business at that time. 1992, PICC started to do medium and long-term business. 1994, the policy bank was established, and The Export-Import Bank of China also has the right to handle export credit insurance business. The export credit insurance business was started by China People's Insurance Company and The Export-Import Bank of China.
China's export credit insurance has developed for nearly 20 years, and the underwriting amount has greatly increased. Compared with 1989, the underwriting amount of 1999 increased by 2 13 times, with an annual growth rate of 46.9%. Even so, China's export credit insurance is still at a low level, which is not suitable for the substantial growth of foreign trade. Only about 1. 1% of China's total exports are insured with export credit insurance, and about 99% of China's total exports are not insured with export credit insurance. China's export credit insurance companies only account for about 3% of China's export enterprises, and some enterprises don't even know the existence of export credit insurance.
5. Commercial collection industry
Accompanied by commercial collection and credit sales activities. With the development of economy, it has gradually developed into a legal profession that plays an extremely important role in commercial activities. Refers to the service of professional institutions to recover overdue accounts on behalf of customers. The institutions engaged in commercial collection are mainly professional collectors, information consultants and lawyers. And put pressure on the debtor by legal means. When the debtor submits it, with the consent of the customer, the lawyer of the collection agency will recover the money through law.
Companies engaged in business and commercial accounts collection in China must first obtain the Special Trade License approved by the public security department, which is the industry management department of commercial accounts collection business. Before 1995, there were many debt collection companies in China. However, due to irregular operation, the market order is disturbed and the rights and interests of creditors and debtors are damaged. 1In February 1995 and August 2000, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Economic and Trade Commission issued notices twice, forbidding China to establish and carry out the business of collecting commercial accounts on the grounds that various underworld organizations were involved.
However, with the deepening of economic reform, there is a huge market demand for commercial collection industry. Relevant figures show that enterprises in China account for about 5% of the total trade, while in countries with mature market economies, the proportion is only 0.25% to 0.5%. Therefore, some companies have adopted many circuitous practices and turned to commercial collection.
future
Although there are still many problems in the construction of credit industry in China, China has experienced the process of credit industry from scratch, from simple to complicated in just over ten years. In the whole process, China people's credit awareness has been greatly enhanced, and the credit industry has developed rapidly. Generally speaking, the credit industry in China is in a period of rapid growth. In the future, the development of China's credit information industry will present three major trends:
1, continuous improvement of credit laws and regulations. In the future, the state will introduce a series of relevant credit laws and regulations and credit industry management and operation systems. By opening credit data scientifically and unifying credit standards, a set of social credit system with China characteristics will be gradually formed.
2. The professional level and service ability of the credit industry have been greatly improved. With the acceleration of marketization in China, the credit industry will gain significant social and economic status in China. At the same time, the competition in the credit industry will be more intense, and the number and structure of various industries in the credit field may change greatly.
3. Market credit awareness has generally improved and credit demand has been increasing. With the popularization of credit knowledge and credit laws and regulations, people's credit concept will be fundamentally improved, which is not only the premise of the existence of credit service industry, but also the general trend of China's market economy development. We firmly believe that in the near future, China's credit construction will certainly take a new step. (Author: Zhang Zheng, Professor of Peking University Institute of Economics, Executive Deputy Director of China Credit Research Center)