时间：2022-09-29 06:45:26
Last Year， Yang You went to California for the first time. The redwoods were beautiful， In-N-Out was delicious， but the director of the board for Huaxia Pawnshop said what really caught his eye was Gold & Silver Pawnshop.
“In America there are so many different items，” he said. “Chinese pawn shops have to develop a more American style of sell- ing purses and celebrity memorabilia， and change their minds.”
Although Mr. Yang works in the pawn business， he deals primarily with apartments―the most commonly pawned item， according to store manager Xiong Zhi. Many small-and-medium-sized enterprises are pawning real estate and cars for quick cash， even at much higher interest rates， as they’re finding it difficult to get loans from banks. Especially during Spring Festival， traditionally a time to settle debts， business at Beijing’s oldest pawnshop sees business boom.
“Pawn shops are not the first choice for companies unless they are really desperate， and just trying to survive and hope conditions improve，” said Ismael Pili， Head of Financials Research Asia at Macquarie Group Ltd. “In the meantime they’re probably servicing a loan that has very low recourse.”
Pawnshops fall under China’s shadow banking industry - basically any lending agency outside the traditional banking system - and since 2004， the Middle Kingdom has seen a rise in these underground banks. In 2013 alone Huaxia opened seven new stores in Beijing and， according to Chinese media， there are now 7，000 pawnshops registered throughout China.
While these underground banks provide credit to individuals who have little chance of getting it from a bank， the loans come at a cost.
“There’s certain risks in regards to the shadow banking industry： one， It’s not well regulated， two， there’s still opacity with regards to what’s going on and three， it’s become a sizable portion of the economy，” Pili said.
Yet for many small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）， pawnbrokers are the only option. Chinese banks hesitate to offer loans to companies outside State-owned enterprises， and often after issuing loans to the local government and national companies， there’s just no credit left.
Enter the pawnshop. The People’s Bank of China （PBoC） charges approximately 0.5 percent interest per month on real estate， while Huaxia Pawnshop charges 3.525 percent interest - almost six times higher.
But the issue of access can’t be priced. Chinese media makes the following points in defending the practice：
“The pawn business is a sector that often gets a bad rep. But in reality， pawn brokering is not only a great way for SMEs to receive fast cash， but also a nice addition to large banks. Pawnshops can also help recycle second-hand products，” China Daily Europe reported in November 2013.
In the Shanghai Free Trade Zone， pawnshops are even open to foreign investment.
But what investors would be throwing capital into is uncertain.
Huaxia Pawnshop doesn’t disclose the names of its customers， but Xiong remembers a man who pawned his Beijing apartment for approximately 300，000 yuan in September 2013 so he could buy mobile phones for his shop in Beijing’s Zhongguan- cun Electronics Market. Three months later， the man paid off the principal loan and interest.
While this is a success story， the man owned a tiny phone stand located in a crowded market， likely situated next to vendors selling the exact same products. His success depended on his and his customers ability to bargain， and was by no means guaranteed.
So the spirit of unregulated borrowing and lending continued. Today shadow lending is the fastest-growing part of China’s financial sector， and J.P . Morgan Chase & Co. estimated that it accounted for 69 percent of China’s gross domestic product―or 36 trillion yuan―in 2012.
“It’s a conduit for economic growth，” Pili said. “But it’s not very well regulated， and there are emerging risks.”
For example， in the fall of 2011， dozens of entrepreneurs in Wenzhou fled town to escape creditors despite strong sales. These private business owners faced financial ruin because of their inability to service loans secured by the city’s underground banks. By October 5， the crisis was so severe that thenPremier Wen Jiabao visited the city to take stock of the situation. Later， it was revealed that 89 percent of Wenzhou households and 60 percent of local businesses were involved in shadow lending， according to a survey conducted by the PBoC branch in Wenzhou at the time.
That November the State Council responded by placing pawnshops under the direction of the Ministry of Commerce. After analysis of the Wenzhou incident， many found that people were pawning apartments to play the stock market. That practice was banned in May of that year， although regulations remain lax.
“The stock market is bad these days， so not many people are doing that，” Xiong said.“People know it has a bad effect on social stability.”
Recently， the government has been trying to crack down on underground lending， with initiatives such as State Council Document No. 107， which looks to clarify the central bank and the banking， securities and insurance agencies’ responsibilities in policing shadow banks， and Document No. 9， which limits inter-bank lending.
“The biggest concern is not the people， that’s more retail. It’s more about the corporate side， and if their loans go bad the banks will have to answer for it，” Pili said. “But the thing is， the corporations are mostly Staterun， and the banks themselves are State-controlled， so it’s going to come back to the same group： The government.
“So， I don’t think there’s going to be a banking crisis because the government will just basically save itself again， as they’ve done over the past several decades. Every decade it seems they come in and bail out the banks.”
While pawnshops do not pose a direct threat to China’s economic system， Pili mentioned that if a large amount of their loans went bad it could undermine consumers confidence in the traditional banking system―namely， leading to customers to question banks lending authority or turn to an alternative route for funding.
In November 2013， China Daily reported that pawnbrokers nationwide were enjoying more than 23 percent annual growth. From 2012 to 2013， Xiong said the total sum of loans issued at his branch of Huaxia grew by 15 percent.
Apartments are the most commonly pawned item， luxury vehicles the second and jade， expensive stones and watches make a close third.
Today’s Huaxia looks more like a luxury department store than a loan agency. The pawnshop’s aisles gleam with Cartier， and a display case houses rare jades from Xinjiang. Xiong’s silver Longines was bought from the store’s second floor.
“In China， fewer people go to pawnshops than department stores or shopping malls. They always want the new style of clothes or purses，” Xiong said. “But we can guarantee good quality and low prices.”
About 100 customers push through Huaxia’s door every day， Xiong said， and half of them are pawning real estate―desperately seeking credit from one of China’s underground banks.