In order to cooperate with the smooth launch of STAR Market and improve the securities trading mechanism in the capital market, CSRC issued a new business guide, the "Guidelines for Public Offered Securities Investment Funds to Participate in the Lending of Financing and Transferring Securities" (hereinafter referred to as "Guidelines"), at its press conference on June 21.

There are 18 articles in the Guidelines, which mainly regulate the basic principles, principal responsibility, investment indicators, business nature, risk management and information disclosure of public funds participating in lending business.

At the same time, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has also issued the Notice on matters related to the trading of stock in STAR Market and depository receipts. It pointed out that the stock of STAR Market can be used as financing to buy and sell the underlying securities from the first day of listing. Before the opening of each trading day, the Shanghai Stock Exchange publishes the list of the securities subject to financing and securities borrowing on the same day. The relevant arrangements for drawing up the list of securities subject to financing and securities borrowing shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Rules for the Implementation of Financing and Securities Trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The CSRC said that the next step would be to strengthen the supervision of public funds participating in lending business according to law, protect the legitimate rights and interests of fund investors, and promote the long-term healthy development of the public funds industry.

The 860 billion-plus market is gaining momentum

The Guidelines clearly require fund managers to carry out lending business only after formulating scientific and rigorous investment strategies and risk management systems in accordance with prudent management principles. Fund trustees should strengthen supervision and review of fund participation in lending business. China Securities and Finance Co., Ltd. should strengthen risk monitoring of fund participation in lending business.

In terms of the definition and nature of public funds participating in lending business, the Guidelines clarify that fund participating in lending business refers to the business in which funds lend securities to securities financial companies at a certain rate through the comprehensive business platform of stock exchanges, and securities financial companies return the securities borrowed and compensate for their corresponding rights and interests and pay fees when they are due.

When the fund participates in the lending business, it may adopt the agreed and non-agreed declaration methods, and meet the requirements of relevant self-regulatory rules. Where a fund participates in the lending business by means of an agreed declaration, the fund manager and the securities lending company shall negotiate and determine such elements as the quantity, duration and rate of the agreed declaration.

In addition, the Guidelines stipulate that the fund's participation in the lending business does not terminate the confirmation of securities lending. The calculation of the holding period of the securities held by the fund is not affected by the lending, and the lending securities should be included in the calculation of the index of the investment operation of the fund.

It is reported that the public offering securities investment funds mentioned in the Guidelines include closed-end partial-equity hybrid funds, stock ETF and its linked funds, and strategic placement funds. The partial-equity hybrid fund refers to the hybrid fund whose proportion of stock investment is more than 60% explicitly stipulated in the fund contract. Strategic placement fund is a kind of securities investment fund whose main investment strategy includes strategic placement of stocks and operates in a closed way.

According to the data of the first quarter of 2019, the total size of these funds has reached 865.8 billion yuan. Through lending business, these funds will receive certain fees, which are directly included in the assets of the funds and are expected to increase the returns of these funds.

Strengthen liquidity risk management with multiple indicators

In strengthening liquidity risk management, the Guidelines clearly require fund managers to analyze the factors affecting liquidity risk in detail, to determine the scope, duration and proportion of securities lending rationally, and to set the liquidity risk characteristics of different types of funds in terms of the ratio of net assets, the ratio of vouchers lending, the minimum size of the fund and the average remaining period of lending and other relevant risk management indicators.

Specifically, the securities assets lent by the fund in the closed period shall not exceed 50% of the net assets of the fund, and the maturity date of the loan shall not exceed the expiration date of the closed period.

The participation of open-ended stock index funds and related linked funds in the lending business shall conform to the requirement that the assets of the securities lending shall not exceed 30% of the net assets of the fund, and that the securities lending for a period of more than 10 trading days shall be included in the scope of the liquidity-limited securities mentioned in the Regulations on Liquidity Risk Management of Open-ended Securities Investment Funds; Securities shall not exceed 30% of the total amount of the securities held by the fund; the single securities of other Open-ended Stock Index and ETF funds participating in the lending business shall not exceed 50% of the total amount of the securities held by the fund; the average net asset value of the fund shall not be less than 200 million yuan per day in the last six months; the average remaining period of securities lending shall not exceed 30 days, and the average remaining period shall be weighted by the market value for calculation.

In addition, the Guidelines also require fund managers to manage the liquidity risk of lending business well, strengthen stress test management, analyze market conditions, types and structures of investors, historical redemption data, and liquidity of lending securities in detail, and reasonably determine the scope, duration and proportion of lending securities.

The Guidelines require fund managers to rationally decentralize the lending period and the concentration in securities companies. If the fund participates in the lending business through the agreed declaration method, it shall manage and dynamically adjust the trading quotas of different securities companies. The classification results of securities companies in the last year shall be category A. At the same time, affiliated transactions shall carry out fair and reasonable market prices and shall not engage in improper trading activities such as profit transmission.

Clear requirements for product registration materials, information disclosure and accounting

In terms of application materials for product registration, the Guidelines clearly require funds that have been approved or registered by the CSRC before the implementation of the Guidelines. Fund contracts clearly stipulate that funds can engage in lending business, and they can engage in lending business in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and the provisions of fund contracts. If the fund contract is not agreed upon, the lender may only engage in lending business after performing the procedure of amending the fund contract according to law. Except for strategic allotment funds approved by CSRC.

In terms of information disclosure, the Guidelines require fund managers to disclose in detail their participation in lending business in relevant documents such as periodic reports of funds, and to elaborate on major related transactions that occur during the reporting period; in terms of valuation, they require valuation accounting in accordance with relevant regulations of industry associations to ensure the fairness of valuation.

为配合科创板的顺利推出，完善资本市场融券机制，证监会于6月21日的新闻发布会上发布了一项新的业务指引——《公开募集证券投资基金参与融转通证券出借业务指引（试行）》（以下简称《指引》）。

《指引》共十八条，主要规范了公募基金参与出借业务的基本原则、主体责任、投资指标、业务性质、风险管理、信息披露等内容。
与此同时，上交所也发布了《关于科创板股票及存托凭证交易相关事项的通知》，指出科创板股票自上市首日起可作为融资买入和融券卖出标的证券，上交所于每个交易日开市前公布当日科创板融资融券标的名单，调出融资融券标的证券名单的相关安排按照《上海证券交易所融资融券交易实施细则》的相关规定执行。
证监会表示，下一步将依法加强对公募基金参与出借业务的监管，保护基金投资者的合法权益，促进公募基金行业长期健康发展。

8600多亿市场迎来利好
《指引》明确要求基金管理人按照审慎经营原则，在制定科学严谨的投资策略与风险管理制度后方可开展出借业务。基金托管人应当加强对基金参与出借业务的监督和复核，中国证券金融股份有限公司应当加强对基金参与出借业务的风险监测。
在公募基金参与出借业务的定义和性质上，《指引》明确了基金参与出借业务是指基金以一定的费率通过证券交易所综合业务平台向证券金融公司出借证券，证券金融公司到期归还所借证券及相应权益补偿并支付费用的业务。
基金参与出借业务，可以采取约定申报方式和非约定申报方式，并符合相关自律规则的要求。基金通过约定申报方式参与出借业务的，由基金管理人、借券证券公司协商确定约定申报的数量、期限、费率等要素。
此外，《指引》规定基金参与出借业务不终止确认出借证券。基金持有证券的持有期计算不因出借而受影响，出借证券应纳入基金投资运作指标计算范围。
据悉，《指引》所提及的公开募集证券投资基金包括封闭期的偏股混合型基金、股票ETF及其联接基金、战略配售基金。偏股混合型基金是指基金合同明确约定股票投资比例在60%以上的混合型基金。战略配售基金是指主要投资策略包括投资战略配售股票，且以封闭式方式运作的证券投资基金。
根据2019年一季度的数据，上述这些基金的总规模达到了8658亿元，通过出借业务，这些基金将获得一定的费用，费用直接计入基金资产，有望增厚这些基金的收益。

多项指标强化流动性风险管理
在强化流动性风险管理上，《指引》明确要求基金管理人应当详细分析影响流动性风险的各项因素，合理确定出借证券的范围、期限和比例；并针对不同类型基金的流动性风险特征， 从资产净值比例、单券出借比例、基金最低规模、出借平均剩余期限等维度设定了相关风控指标。
具体来看，处于封闭期的基金出借证券资产不得超过基金资产净值的50%，出借到期日不得超过封闭日期到期日。
开放式股票指数基金及相关联接基金参与出借业务应当符合出借证券资产不得超过基金资产净值的30%，出借期限在10个交易日以上的出借证券应当纳入《公开募集开放式证券投资基金流动性风险管理规定》所述流动性受限证券的范围；ETF基金参与出借业务的单只证券不得超过基金所持有该证券总量的30%；其他开放式股票指数型、ETF基金的联接基金参与出借业务的单只证券不得超过基金持有该证券总量的50%；最近6个月内日均基金资产净值不得低于2亿元；证券出借的平均剩余期限不得超过30天，平均剩余期限按照市值加权平均计算。
此外，《指引》还要求基金管理人应当做好出借业务流动性风险管理，加强压力测试管理，详细分析市场情况、投资者类型与结构、历史申赎数据、出借证券流动性情况等因素，合理确定出借证券的范围、期限和比例。
《指引》要求基金管理人应当合理分散出借期限与借券证券公司的集中度。基金通过约定申报方式参与出借业务的，对不同的借券证券公司实施交易额度管理并进行动态调整，借券证券公司最近1年的分类结果应为A 类；同时，关联交易应当执行市场公平合理的价格，不得从事利益输送等不正当的交易活动。

明确产品注册材料、信息披露及会计核算等要求
在产品注册申请材料方面，《指引》明确要求在指引施行前已经获得中国证监会核准或注册的基金，基金合同明确约定基金可以从事出借业务的，可按照法律法规的规定及基金合同的约定从事出借业务。基金合同未约定的，需依法履行修改基金合同的程序后，方可从事出借业务。中国证监会认可的战略配售基金除外。
在信息披露方面，《指引》要求基金管理人应当在基金定期报告等相关文件中详细披露参与出借业务的情况，并就报告期内发生的重大关联交易事项作出详细说明；估值方面，要求参照行业协会有关规定进行估值核算，确保估值的公允性。