China’s central bank will increase the frequency of its money supply operations, with immediate effect, in a move to ensure there is ample liquidity in the banking system amid unprecedented capital outflow.
中国央行决定延续前期增加货币供应操作频率的有关安排,在中国遭遇空前资本外流的背景下,此举旨在确保银行体系有充足流动性。
The People’s Bank of China is facing a tricky balancing act as it attempts to lower financing costs to support economic growth without resorting to heavy-handed monetary easing that could fuel capital flight.
中国人民银行(PBoC)正面临一个棘手的平衡难题:它试图降低融资成本以支持经济增长,但不愿付诸大刀阔斧的货币政策放松,以免加剧资本外流。
The PBoC has cut benchmark interest rates six times since late 2014 and injected about Rmb2.5tn ($384bn) into the banking system by cutting the share of deposits that lenders must hold in reserve at the central bank. The moves were aimed at stimulating an economy that last year grew at its slowest pace since 1990.
自2014年末以来,中国央行已六次下调基准利率,并通过下调银行存款准备金率,向银行体系注入大约2.5万亿元人民币(合3840亿美元)。这些举措旨在刺激经济增长,去年中国经济增速是自1990年以来最低的。
In recent weeks, however, authorities have signalled that they do not want to engage in further interest rate and reserve ratio cuts because doing so would encourage renminbi weakness and capital outflow.
但在最近几周,当局发出信号暗示,他们不希望进行进一步的降息和降准,因为那么做会助长人民币弱势和资本外流。
Setting aside these tools — traditionally the PBoC’s mainstays — has forced the central bank to increase reliance on open market operations (OMO) to manage the money supply. The PBoC’s main task has been to counteract the monetary contraction caused by capital outflow and central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market designed to curb renminbi depreciation. This has led to record cash injections through open market operations.
搁置这些传统上的首选工具后,中国央行被迫在更大程度上依赖公开市场操作(OMO)管理货币供应量。中国央行的主要任务,是抵消资本外流和央行为遏止人民币贬值而干预汇市所导致的货币紧缩。这已导致央行借助公开市场操作进行创纪录金额的注资。
In a brief statement on Thursday the central bank said it would conduct open market operations every business day, with immediate effect. Previously such operations were usually conducted twice a week — on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
中国央行在周四发布的一份简短公告中表示,它将延续前期增加公开市场操作频率的有关安排,即原则上每个工作日均开展公开市场操作。此前这些操作通常每周进行两次——在周二和周四。
“This is mainly about improving management of liquidity risk. The PBoC can act in a timely basis to provide funds to banks that need it,” said Guo Yanhong, analyst at Fangzheng Securities in Beijing.
“这主要是为了改进流动性风险管理。中国央行可以及时行动,向需要的银行提供资金,”方正证券(Fangzheng Securities)分析师郭燕红在北京表示。
The new approach will bring the PBoC’s monetary policy implementation closer in line with peers such as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, for whom OMOs are the main tool for influencing interest rates. The PBoC had experimented with daily OMOs in recent weeks during the lunar new year holiday, when cash demand and money market volatility traditionally rise.
新的方式将使中国央行在货币政策的执行上更接近国际同行,如美联储(Fed)和欧洲央行(ECB),对后两者来说,公开市场操作是影响利率的主要工具。中国央行从1月29日起已开始试行每个工作日均开展公开市场操作;传统上,春节期间现金需求和货币市场波动性都会上升。
OMOs, in which the PBoC injects or withdraws cash from the banking system through bond repurchase agreements, are a more flexible tool for managing money supply. Unlike reserve ratio cuts — which are permanent unless the central bank actively reverses them — the impact of OMOs is temporary. The PBoC typically uses repos with maturities ranging from seven to 28 days. Once the repos mature, the PBoC can choose to roll them over or let them expire.
公开市场操作包括中国央行通过债券回购协议向银行体系注入(或从其抽取)资金。这是一种比较灵活的货币供应管理工具。下调银行存款准备金率是永久性的措施——除非央行主动逆转它们。与此不同的是,公开市场操作的影响是暂时的。中国央行通常使用的工具是期限为7天至28天的回购协议。一旦回购协议到期,中国央行可选择将其滚转,或者让它们过期。
Beyond capital outflows, money market interest rates have assumed greater importance in China’s overall financial system in recent years. The PBoC completed the process of deregulating domestic interest rates last year when it removed the longstanding cap on bank deposit rates. A floor on lending rates was eliminated in 2013.
除了资本外流之外,货币市场利率近年来在中国整个金融体系中的重要性有所上升。中国央行去年取消了对银行存款利率实行已久的上限,从而完成了放开国内利率的进程。针对贷款利率的下限早在2013年就已放开。
The end of administrative control of interest rates means that interest rates in the interbank money market now exert a greater influence on the rate at which banks lend to companies and households.
结束对利率的行政管制意味着,银行间货币市场上的利率现在对银行向企业和家庭放贷的利率有更大影响力。
“There is pressure from capital outflow, so the PBoC increases open market operations, establishes an interest rate corridor, stabilises short term rates, and strengthens market communications,” said Li Qilin, analyst at Minsheng Securities in Beijing.
“面对资本外流压力,中国央行增加公开市场操作,建立一条利率走廊,稳定短期利率,同时加强市场沟通,”民生证券(Minsheng Securities)分析师李奇霖在北京表示。