Zheng Quan Shi Bao·2025-08-26 00:55Core Viewpoint - The National Financial Supervision Administration has released a draft for the "Management Measures for Mergers and Acquisitions Loans by Commercial Banks," marking a comprehensive upgrade in the regulatory framework for acquisition loans since 2015. The revision aims to optimize services while controlling risks, providing policy support for banks to expand their business while enhancing their risk management capabilities [1][2]. Group 1: Regulatory Changes - The new measures introduce a balanced approach of "moderate looseness and strictness," allowing for financial support in industrial integration while setting clear risk boundaries for banks [1]. - For the first time, the measures include support for equity acquisitions, addressing the previous limitation of only covering controlling acquisitions, aligning with current industrial chain collaboration needs [1]. - The loan ratio and term have been relaxed, with the upper limit for controlling acquisition loans raised from 60% to 70% and the maximum term extended from 7 years to 10 years. For equity acquisitions, the loan ratio is capped at 60% with a maximum term of 7 years, easing financial pressure on acquirers [1]. Group 2: Enhanced Supervision - The measures require banks engaging in acquisition loans to meet basic conditions such as "good regulatory ratings" and "compliance with key prudential regulatory indicators," along with asset size thresholds to prevent smaller banks from engaging in high-risk activities [2]. - A closed-loop risk control process is mandated, focusing on pre-loan assessments of borrowers' repayment capabilities and post-loan vigilance against fund misappropriation and fraudulent acquisitions [2]. - Quantified risk boundaries are established through prohibitive clauses, such as limiting the total balance of acquisition loans to no more than 50% of Tier 1 capital and capping equity loan balances at 30% of total acquisition loans [2]. Group 3: Risk Management Requirements - Banks are encouraged to establish specialized management mechanisms and systems to comply with the new measures, including defining business processes, risk assessment standards, and approval mechanisms, along with developing dedicated information systems for real-time monitoring of acquisition transactions and financial flows [2][3]. - The establishment of professional teams is emphasized, requiring banks to form multidisciplinary teams including acquisition experts, credit analysts, industry researchers, lawyers, and accountants to enhance risk identification accuracy [3]. - A multi-dimensional repayment capacity assessment system is to be constructed, incorporating both financial and non-financial factors to evaluate the ongoing profitability and debt repayment ability of acquired companies, thus avoiding misjudgments based on singular indicators [3].