[CCTV Review] Heavy! The State Council issued a document to rectify Internet financial risks and regulate ＂crowdfunding to buy a house＂ and other behaviors

Today (13th), the State Council released the Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Internet Financial Risks. Comprehensive arrangements were made for the special rectification of Internet financial risks. This move means that the official "sword" refers to the internet financial risks, sets a "military order" and sets a "timetable".

The plan calls for the completion of the special rectification of Internet financial risks by the end of March next year, and the key rectification areas include:

P2P peer-to-peer lending and Equity Crowdfunding Business

Asset management and cross-border financial business through the Internet.

Third-party payment service

Advertising in the field of internet finance

The goal is to form an overall report on Internet finance rectification in China, and establish and improve a long-term mechanism for Internet finance supervision.

In addition, the following five documents were released today:

The People’s Bank of China and other 17 ministries and commissions "Implementation Plan for Asset Management through the Internet and Special Remediation of Cross-border Financial Business Risks";

The People’s Bank of China and other 14 ministries and commissions "Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Risks of Non-bank Payment Institutions";

CBRC’s Implementation Plan for P2P peer-to-peer lending Risk Special Remediation Work.

China Insurance Regulatory Commission and other 15 ministries and commissions "Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Internet Insurance Risks".

The CSRC and other 15 ministries and commissions "Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Equity Crowdfunding Risks"

Specifically:

For P2P platform: no fund pool can be set up.

The "Program" stipulates that:

P2P peer-to-peer lending Platform should keep the legal bottom line and policy red line, implement the nature of information intermediary, and shall not set up a fund pool, issue loans or illegally raise funds.

Interpretation:

Wang Yahong, an expert on financial issues:In recent years, after the incidents such as Easy Rent Bao and Pan Asia Institute, Internet finance has not had time to develop and show its inclusive side, and it has prematurely assumed a disgraceful reputation. Strict supervision of P2P industry is conducive to the healthy and orderly development of Internet finance, and it is necessary and timely to carry out special rectification.

For the equity crowdfunding business: no false targets shall be published, and no self-financing shall be allowed.

The State Council’s "Program" stipulates that:

The equity crowdfunding platform shall not publish false targets, raise funds by itself, or raise funds in disguised form. It shall strengthen the information disclosure obligations and shareholders’ rights protection requirements for financiers and equity crowdfunding platforms, and shall not make false statements and misleading propaganda.

Interpretation:

After the publication of the Administrative Measures for Private Equity Crowdfunding (Trial) (Draft for Comment) in December 2014, there was no formal policy for equity crowdfunding since then, and the supervision was backward. This time, the State Council’s notice may have pointed out the key supervision direction in the future.

For real estate finance: it is forbidden to make down payment and standardize crowdfunding to buy a house.

The "Program" stipulates that:

Real estate development enterprises, real estate intermediaries and internet finance institutions shall not engage in real estate finance business by using P2P peer-to-peer lending platform and equity crowdfunding platform without obtaining relevant financial qualifications; Standardize internet "crowdfunding to buy a house" and other behaviors, and prohibit all kinds of institutions from carrying out "down payment" business.

Interpretation:

Under the background of tightening regulation of the property market, it is strictly forbidden to leverage the property market through black-box operations such as crowdfunding to buy a house and down payment.

For Internet companies to engage in cross-border financial business: they should obtain qualifications.

The "Program" stipulates that:

Internet enterprises shall not rely on the Internet to carry out corresponding business without obtaining relevant financial business qualifications, and the essence of conducting business shall conform to the obtained business qualifications.

Without the approval of the relevant departments, many kinds of financial products issued by private placement may not be sold to the public through packaging or splitting.

Interpretation:

Seventeen ministries and commissions, including the central bank, issued the "Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Asset Management and Cross-border Financial Business Risks through the Internet", proposing that the key points of remediation include: all kinds of Internet enterprises with asset management-related business qualifications but irregular business; All kinds of internet enterprises that carry out financial services such as asset management across borders; Internet enterprises with a number of financial business qualifications and obvious comprehensive operating characteristics.

For third-party payment services: no unlicensed operation is allowed.

In answering a reporter’s question, the leading group for special rectification of Internet financial risks pointed out:

The rectification in the field of third-party payment focuses on the risk of non-bank payment institutions’ reserve funds, inter-agency clearing business, and unlicensed payment business. The third-party payment field has implemented business licenses, and special rectification work will be carried out for institutions that operate payment business without licenses.

Interpretation:

Zhao Wei, Deputy Secretary General of Financial Innovation and Internet Finance Legal Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law:

In recent years, the third-party payment industry has developed rapidly. Non-bank payment institutions have played a positive role in promoting the innovation of payment services and improving and upgrading the level of payment services. However, some problems have also been exposed in its rapid development, especially some payment institutions and even commercial banks have opened payment channels to institutions and personnel engaged in payment business without permission, providing payment convenience, which has caused many cases of infringing on customers’ rights and disrupting financial order.

From the characteristics of the risk events and cases that have occurred, the payment business without a license mainly involves: First, the core business of acquiring bank cards without a license, such as "second clearing". The second is to operate online payment services without a license, such as "big merchant settlement" and electronic wallets that open payment accounts. The third is the issuance and acceptance of multi-purpose prepaid cards without a license.

From the perspective of social harm, the harm of unlicensed payment business is becoming more and more serious. The first is to endanger the safety of customers’ funds and seriously infringe on consumers’ rights and interests. Secondly, it endangers the security of payment information and encourages criminal behavior. Finally, it endangers the market operation order and has no bottom line competition. It has seriously disrupted the market operation order and endangered the safe and steady operation of the payment service market.

Therefore, the just released "Implementation Plan for Special Remediation of Risks of Non-bank Payment Institutions" has made it clear that the rectification of unlicensed payment business should be included in the special rectification of risks of non-bank payment institutions, and all relevant cooperative departments should clarify their responsibilities and determine the time plan, so as to complete centralized cleaning and disposal before the end of November 2016. The "Proposal" also emphasizes the need to promote the establishment of a working mechanism for the normalization and rectification of unlicensed payment services. Only by increasing punishment and forming a long-term system and long-term measures can we completely eliminate the "black sheep" and maintain the healthy development of the payment service market.

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Special rectification is an important step to gradually improve the Internet financial supervision system. Internet finance is a new thing, and the deep integration of Internet and finance is also the general trend, which will have a more profound impact on financial products, business scope, organizational structure and service forms. However, the old financial supervision mechanism has lagged behind the development of internet finance in many aspects, so there are many loopholes in practice. On the other hand, the complex structure of Internet finance projects also increases the difficulty of supervision in reality.

The special rectification work is to check and fill the gaps in a targeted manner, further clarify the risk bottom line of Internet finance, protect legal operations, and resolutely crack down on illegal and illegal activities. This means that we can take an important step in gradually improving the supervision of financial Internet financiers, and on this basis, we can further standardize the development of Internet finance, maintain market stability, and effectively protect the interests of market participants.

As a new thing, the development of Internet finance needs not only market-driven, but also technological innovation and policy-standardized development. These are the three pillars supporting the development of Internet finance. Only when the pillars are more stable can Internet finance develop more rapidly in the future and have the opportunity to fully demonstrate its unique charm of innovation and inclusiveness.

Wen Wen Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General of Financial Innovation and Internet Finance Legal Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law

Wang Yahong, an expert on financial issues

Producer/Editor-in-Chief Tang Yi/Li Zhe

Editor/Ji Zhiwen