柬埔寨国有农村发展银行（RDB）刚拔出5000万美元，用于向从事农业领域的中小型企业提供优惠贷款。
农村发展银行首席执行官高塔（Kao Thach）表示，50万家中小型企业可通过RDB的优惠贷款来提高生产力和改善竞争力。各家中小型企业可以年利率6%最多贷款30万美元用于增加企业资金和年利率5%以进行投资。
柬埔寨女性企业家协会主席Eng Lykuong表示，RDB的优惠贷款将为国内中小型企业发挥作用。30万美元的贷款将有助于企业推进经营活动不断向前发展。
据国际财政公司的一份报告指出，柬埔寨女企业家在获得优惠贷款以扩大经营投资范围问题上遇到困难。该国中小型企业中的3%能够从小型信贷机构或银行贷款。
报告还指出，柬埔寨女企业家的贷款需求约42亿美元，相当于2019年该国国家财政67亿美元的63%。
柬埔寨工业和手工业部近期对71家企业进行调查后得出，这些企业在市场研究、服务发展、包装、更新技术、人力资源、财政、注册经营、关税和改善卫生标准等方面需要帮助。
Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) have limited their direct services while pushing their online services in a bid to implement social distancing to contain the COVID-19 spread.
The central bank announced on Monday that certain services, such as the BI Real Time Gross Settlement service, BI National Clearing System and rupiah and foreign exchange monetary transactions supported by the BI Scripless Securities Settlement System to transfer funds, securities and settle payments among banks, would continue to operate normally.
The BI Electronic Trading Platform and money withdrawal and deposit services from banks through ATMs and cash deposit machines would also operate as usual.
“Meanwhile, services that are carried out through social interactions would be temporarily closed or halted as of March 16,” said BI spokesman Onny Widjanarko in a statement.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo highlighted on Sunday the importance of practicing what is called “social distancing” to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus that has already claimed thousands of lives worldwide. He called on the citizens to work, study and worship at home as the coronavirus has infected 134 people in Indonesia and killed five among them.
The central bank, meanwhile, would close its mobile cash services in cities and outermost, frontier and least developed places throughout the nation. BI would also close its damaged money exchange service and its counterfeit money reporting services.
BI would cancel public visits and close the Bank Indonesia Visitor Center. Furthermore, the Bank Indonesia Museum and Bank Indonesia Library would also be closed to the public.
The central bank established measures to ensure that banknotes distributed to the public have been thoroughly disinfected to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus as well. The central bank is also quarantining banknotes received from banks for 14 days prior to disinfecting and redistributing them to the public.
“BI is enacting, among other things, a work-from-home mechanism for all of its employees,” Onny said.
Similarly, the OJK on Tuesday told more than 70 percent of its employees to work from home to contain the coronavirus spread and limited working hours for those who are still required to go to the office. It also limited visitation services and advised customers to use online and phone channels if they need the OJK’s assistance.
State-owned Bank Mandiri has also been allowing some of its employees to work from home since Monday.
However, the bank’s corporate secretary, Rully Setiawan, said that all Bank Mandiri branches would operate regularly from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Its ATMs would also be open for 24 hours as usual.
“Bank Mandiri is implementing split-team and work-from-home mechanisms for most of our work units,” he said in a statement. “In the current situation, our priority is the health and safety of our clients and employees.”
He also suggested Bank Mandiri clients to use its Mandiri Online mobile application to access its services for things like transferring funds and opening new saving accounts.
The Bank of Japan on Monday unveiled a series of emergency monetary policy measures to shore up the world’s third-largest economy, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens a global recession.
In a meeting brought forward by two days, the BoJ said it would double its annual capacity to purchase exchange-traded funds and Japan real estate investment funds, the latest global central bank to take emergency action.
The moves sent Japanese markets whipsawing, with the Nikkei-225 initially surging two percent but then falling rapidly back into the red as traders digested the statement.
The bank said it had decided unanimously to “actively” purchase ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and J-REITs (investment funds tied to Japanese real estate) with an annual upper limit of 12 trillion yen (US$112 billion) and 180 billion yen respectively.
Seiichi Suzuki, senior market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, said: “What’s big is 12 trillion yen of ETFs buying, which means one trillion yen each month. What investor could ignore this?”
“It was quite a drastic step,” Suzuki told AFP. “Those who wanted to buy jumped on the occasion.”
Previously, the bank was buying a maximum of six trillion yen of ETFs and 90 billion yen of J-REITs per year.
The BoJ said it would also introduce a new operation to provide loans against corporate debt and raised its annual limit for corporate bond purchases by one trillion yen to 4.2 trillion yen.
But it left its main interest rate unchanged at minus 0.1 percent and also kept its upper limit for purchasing government bonds at 80 trillion yen.
“There have been significant uncertainties over the consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 and over the size and persistence of their impact on domestic and overseas economies,” said the bank in a statement.
The move followed emergency measures before Asian markets opened from the US Federal Reserve to shore up confidence and keep the financial sector running, including slashing the key interest rate to virtually zero.
The Fed made its second emergency rate cut in less than two weeks, lowering the benchmark borrowing rate to a range of 0-0.25 percent, where it was during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Japanese economy was tottering even before the coronavirus struck, with growing fears of a recession. “Japan’s economic activity is likely to remain weak for the time being, mainly affected by the outbreak of COVID-19,” the BoJ said.
The country’s gross domestic product for the October-December quarter contracted by 1.8 percent, with consumer spending hit by a hike in consumption tax last October from eight percent to 10 percent.
Concerns are growing that consumption will be hit even harder as people put off big purchases due to coronavirus fears, with the pandemic also predicted to have a huge impact on exports.
On top of this looms the possibility that the Olympic Games, scheduled to open on July 24 in Tokyo, could be postponed or cancelled.
Estimates vary on what that could cost Japan, which is spending an estimated 1.35 trillion yen on Tokyo 2020. Any change to the Olympic schedule would have a huge impact on tourism — Japan was banking on 40 million visitors in 2020.
Economists at research firm Nomura already predict a 0.7-percent contraction in GDP for the 2020 calendar year, but warn that could be up to 1.5 percent if the Games are cancelled.
Monday’s measures “will contribute to supporting economic and financial activities”, said the bank.
一场公共卫生紧急事件最初只是被轻视为对美国经济一闪而过的风险，现在却演变成一场全面考试，测试10年来的规划、监管、研究以及反思，是否已经让金融系统变得足够坚韧，能够抵御重大冲击，而央行能否担负起救援的重任。
尽管周一股市继续下挫，但美联储紧急应对的成功之处将会在未来几周逐步体现，我们需要观察美联储承诺要保持运转的整体金融市场、那些可能难以承受创纪录债务负担的公司，以及随着收入和工资枯竭而向当地银行求助的小商店和家庭。
美联储主席鲍威尔周日推出计划，称这些计划将提供全方位帮助，但密切关注美联储的分析师和经济学家认为，眼下最好的希望也不过是，在疫情得到控制的同时，经济成长只是短暂大幅滑坡，并随着全国经济活动的恢复能迅速反弹。
现在的局面拖得越久，就越有可能导致大规模裁员以及超出美联储预想的问题，比方说，超出大型银行常规“压力测试”中所预想的问题。
PGIM Fixed Income的首席经济学家Nathan Sheets说，“这是一场始于国外的急剧深度实质冲击，并在供应端传播开来，之后又出现严重的需求冲击和金融条件明显收紧的情况，”美联储和其他央行觉得这三重灾难将导致经济在4月至6月期间萎缩。Nathan Sheets也曾在美联储和美国财政部担任过职务。
他表示，最终冲击将取决于“在企业快要或是必须要大批裁员前，问题能否得到解决。”裁员的结果将会波及银行业，比如，企业债务、家庭房屋贷款和其他类型的贷款是否开始变成坏账。
可就在这种情况在失业率等核心经济数据中得到反映之前，快速发展的危机已经将经济前景撕出一个大洞，以至于美联储和其他央行周日直接上演金融危机时期的剧本：降息至零水准，大规模购买债券，并采取措施维持全球的美元流动性。
**当前形势发展成其他状况**
经济政策制定者最初觉得他们能避免采取那种回应的必要性，因为影响似乎仅限于中国疫情导致的供应链中断和其庞大制造业的停摆。
这种希望现在已经破灭，鲍威尔周日称经济面临“重大”风险–出现前所未有的局面，很多公开活动因公共卫生原因被叫停。
活动和旅行取消导致酒店、体育和娱乐行业停摆。各大城市要求酒吧和餐厅停业，美国联邦疾病控制和预防中心(CDC)要求避免50人以上的聚会。非食品类零售门店人流骤降，港口和铁路货运减少。
“我们的看法已经从暂时性地增长冲击转变为‘情况有多糟糕’，乃至‘会演变为其他危机吗？’”道明证券(TD Securities)全球利率策略主管Priya Misra上周四在电话会议中表示。
“我们认为，情况正在发生变化…从暂时性地供应面冲击转变为更长期地需求冲击，乃至融资冲击。”
现在全球范围内已有超过17万人感染新冠病毒。尽管中国的疫情有所缓和，但在美国可能仍处于初期，确诊病例达到数千例，美国总统特朗普周五宣布全国进入紧急状态。
**上次危机后一直在未雨绸缪**
自上次经济低迷以来，当局一直在未雨绸缪。2007-09年的金融危机促成了对于监管规定的全面检讨，要求银行业持有更多资本和现金，以证明他们在冲击中能够存活下来。
美国最大的金融机构估计持有4.2万亿美元的股票和流动资产，在此情况下，鲍威尔周日表示，他和其他监管机构“鼓励银行业向家庭和企业放贷时动用他们的资本和流动性缓冲。”
鲍威尔周日说，疫情可能造成的冲击以及公共健康应对“尚属未知”，而且非常不确定，因此美联储官员已经取消了原定于本周公布的经济预测。
高盛周日在报告中称，目前预期今年第一季美国国内生产总值(GDP)将零增长，此前预估为成长0.7%。预期第二季增长率将萎缩5.0%，前值为零增长。高盛将美国第三季经济增长预估由前值1%上调至增长3%。
在美国街头出现物资抢购潮，华尔街发生恐慌性抛售后，美国联邦储备委员会(美联储/FED)周日再度紧急降息，在新型冠状病毒疫情于全球快速蔓延之际，为美国经济提供支撑。
美联储将利率调降至0-0.25%的目标区间。美联储已于3月3日在紧急会议上降息50个基点，当时也是2008年金融危机以来首度紧急降息。
美国总统特朗普称降息行动“太棒了”，是“非常好的消息”。
随着疫情扩散，美国民众正面临新的现实，商店货架上连卫生纸都被抢购一空、学校停课，也禁止举行大型集会。
白宫呼吁美国民众不要因疫情扩散而囤积物资，向民众保证食品杂货的供应链仍然强健。
白宫说，特朗普周日与30位企业高管举行电话会议，其中包括亚马逊(AMZN.O)的全食超市 WFM.O、塔吉特(TGT.N)、开市客(好市多, Costco)(COST.O)和沃尔玛(WMT.N)。
特朗普的医生周六表示，总统的病毒检测结果为阴性。为了减缓疫情蔓延，特朗普也将欧洲访美禁令扩大至英国与爱尔兰。
在一些主要机场，返美旅客及入境接受筛查的旅客排起长龙，且出现大面积延误。联邦官员已部署更多工作人员，特朗普并呼吁大家保持耐心。
特朗普说，机场检查“正在尽可能地加快，但小心谨慎非常重要。”
基于有限的检测结果，美国官员统计了近3,000个病例及65个死亡病例。全球已有逾162,000个感染病例，逾6千人死亡。
众议院周六通过援助议案，将提供免费检测及带薪病假。
与意大利、法国和西班牙实施全国封锁相比，美国迄今为止遏制疫情的举措相对温和。俄亥俄州和伊利诺伊州周日下令关闭所有酒吧及餐馆，不过仍准许外带和外送业务。
“我认为美国人应做好准备，他们呆在家里的时间要比现在长很多，”美国顶级传染病专家Anthony Fauci说在NBC的“Meet the Press”节目说，年长者和有基础疾病的人必须特别当心。
Fauci预计当前不会采取国内旅行限制，但警告疫情在转好之前将变得更糟。
在被问及他是否认为美国当局应采取14天封锁措施阻止病毒传播时，Fauci表示，“我希望我们能尽可能做到这点。我认为我们真的应该非常积极地行动，哪怕因为过度反应受到批评。”
Fauci称，在美国关闭餐馆的想法“现在看来可能很过分，但所有选项都在考虑当中。”他说自己不会去餐馆。
“如果看起来是反应过度，那你很可能正在做正确的事，”Fauci称。
根据统计公司Comscore的数据，尽管美国人并没被禁止去看电影，但周末北美票房收入跌至逾20年最低水平。
纽约学校关闭
纽约州州长库莫(Andrew Cuomo)宣布，从周一开始，纽约市、韦斯切斯特、拿索和萨福克的学校将关闭。他还呼吁特朗普调动美国陆军工程兵团增设更多医院床位。
“关于你对纽约采取的行动我们存在分歧，这可以以后再谈。现在，让我们美国人团结起来。时间紧迫，”库莫周日在纽约时报的社论中写到。
库莫曾因为没有像其他州一样关闭学校而备受批评，因为纽约有大量新冠感染病例。
纽约市审计长Scott Stringer建议进行全市封锁。“我们无法照常开展业务。这事关我们所有人。这关系到保护我们最珍贵的东西，”他在一份声明中称。
在ABC电视台的“This Week”节目上，Fauci承认，如果美国的病例急剧增长，国内的13,000台呼吸机可能不够。“我们尽力要做的是确保不会出现最糟糕情境。”
日本银行（央行）3月16日召开货币政策决定会议，决定了抑制金融市场、经济动摇的措施。现在1年6万亿日元的ETF（交易型开放式指数基金）购入目标增加到12万亿日元。
日本银行没有对目前-0.1%的负利率进一步下调。由于美联储15日进行了3月第2次的紧急降息，日本银行也提前举行了原定于3月18～19日举行的会议。日本银行货币政策决定会议的提前召开还是第一次。
日本央行3月2日公布了总裁黑田东彦“将努力确保资金供给充足和金融市场稳定”的发言。在16日的会议上，也出台了以确保资金供应充足和市场稳定为目标的政策。
具体来说，除了将交易型开放式指数基金（EFT）的购买目标从现行的“每年6万亿日元”倍增至12万亿日元外，还将把房地产投资信托（REIT）的购买目标从现行的每年900亿日元倍增至1800亿日元。目的是缓和股市的不安。
此外，还将追加购入2万亿日元大企业为融资而发行的商业票据、公司债。把商业票据、公司债的持有额从目前的2.2万亿日元和3.2万亿日元分别增加1万亿日元。为了支援中小企业资金周转，金融机构还将新设零利率贷款制度。与已经公布了1.6万亿日元金融支援政策的政府统一步调，采取万全之策支援企业的资金周转。
英美等其他海外国家的央行相继大幅降息，不过日本央行暂时放弃深化负利率。这是因为，深化负利率将进一步挤压金融机构的经营，并与为防止新型冠状病毒感染扩大而抑制需求的政府方针相矛盾。日本央行力争通过支援企业资金周转和重视市场稳定的政策来平息市场的震荡。
Standard Chartered is set to launch its “Banking as a Service” solution, Nexus in Indonesia, through which digital platforms and ecosystems like e-commerce, social media or ride-hailing companies will be able to offer loans, credit cards and savings accounts co-created with the bank to their customers under their own brand name.
The Nexus solution is expected to launch in 2021, with an e-commerce platform based in Indonesia alleged to be the Bank’s first partner to the new solution.
Indonesia has the highest e-commerce adoption rate in the world (88%) and piloting Nexus there gives Standard Chartered the opportunity to reach the unbanked and expand its customer base in the world’s 4th most populous country.
We will actively partner with leading consumer platforms in our markets to enable convenient access to financial services to millions of new, tech-savvy customers”
Through the new system, the bank, according to Andrew Chia, CEO, Indonesia, Standard Chartered, will be able to acquire and serve the affluent and emerging affluent clients.
This follows a trend of banks turning to banking-as-a-service as they push for a platform strategy. Industry observers have pointed out that in order to be competitive in 2020, the platform business model has become imperative for banks and financial institutions alike.
Bill Winters, group CEO, Standard Chartered, said: “We will actively partner with leading consumer platforms in our markets to enable convenient access to financial services to millions of new, tech-savvy customers.”
Winters added that the Nexus solutions is potentially a ‘transformational’ platform for both Standard Chartered and its clients.
The bank intends to roll out Nexus to markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with the right regulatory frameworks and established digital platforms. The Banking as a Service solution was incubated at SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm.
Publicly listed private lender PT Bank Danamon Indonesia signed on Thursday a loan channeling agreement with financial technology (fintech) platform PT Investree Radhika Jaya. The partnership will focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by tapping into the segment’s growing number of businesses.
With the agreement, Bank Danamon will provide loan funding through the peer-to-peer lender’s (P2P) platform, enabling SMEs to borrow with higher credit limits “as if they are applying through a bank”, Bank Danamon wrote in a statement.
“We are giving our SME borrowers much easier access to their financing needs, and more importantly, we will continue our commitment to supporting the growth of Indonesian SMEs as the backbone of this country’s economy,” Bank Danamon president director Yasushi Itagaki told a press briefing in Jakarta during the announcement.
Indonesia’s approximately 64.2 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a huge role in the country’s economy as they accounted for 99.9 percent of total businesses in 2018. MSMEs also account for 61 percent of GDP.
Read also: Bank Danamon to get new boss following merger
Bank Danamon vice president director Michellina Laksmi Triwardhany said the partnership would allow the bank to tap into a new customer base, a different market segment than the bank had yet to cater to.
“Danamon usually gives out loans worth Rp 2 billion to Rp 20 billion to SMEs, meanwhile in our partnership with Investree, the maximum loan will be Rp 2 billion,” Michellina said.
The loan channeling scheme will cater to borrowers applying for loans worth between Rp 200 million to Rp 2 billion. The average loan ticket size would be under Rp 500 million, Michellina said.
“This is aligned with our vision because Danamon prioritizes SMEs as one of our engines for business growth.”
As the party who will be in charge of assessing prospective borrowers, Investree will implement several measures as forms of risk mitigation. It will utilize online information networks, for example, e-procurement and artificial technology, to help build its credit-scoring system.
“We are looking into supporting infrastructures for the lending business, [including] SMEs credit-scoring, [which] is something that we are developing as we speak,” Investree cofounder and CEO Adrian Gunadi told the audience at Thursday’s announcement.
Read also: P2P lenders create thousands of jobs, reduce poverty: Study
P2P platforms have contributed Rp 60 trillion to the GDP as of June 2019, primarily through MSMEs, according to a study conducted by local think thank Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) and the Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association (AFPI).
Adrian said that his Investree had formed partnerships with three banks, including Danamon and two multifinance corporations. These institutional lenders contributed about 30 percent of the total lending portfolio as of December last year. The rest were from retail lenders.
The partnership agreement between Bank Danamon and Investree is the third of its kind as the two parties had joined forces in other initiatives in the past four years, namely on cash finance services and opening savings accounts.
Investree is up and running in three countries, namely Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, with almost 2,000 SMEs and 80,000 lenders connected to its platform, Adrian said.
美联储还有其他一系列紧急贷款安排，以及2007-2009年金融危机期间使用的其他工具，如果需要，美联储可以动用这些工具来避免信贷市场在危机期间冻结。
“这些事件背后的故事是，美联储总是会在需要时提供流动性，”布鲁金斯学会高级经济研究员、前美联储金融稳定政策和研究室主任梁奈利(Nellie Liang)表示。
美联储可以在现有授权下自行采取一些措施，而其他措施可能需要与财政部合作或国会扩大对其的授权。
以下是一些工具，如果信贷状况明显恶化，这些工具可以进行调整或重新启用以支持市场：
贴现窗口
美联储的最后借贷工具很少被使用，因为银行担心从窗口借贷会使他们显得虚弱。但梁奈利表示，决策者可以开始提醒银行，“贴现窗口已经打开，请使用它”。美联储官员还可以下调利率或将贷款期限从一天延长至30天或90天，来提高信贷吸引力。
定期标售工具(TAF)
美联储在2007年推出定期标售工具(TAF)，向那些犹犹豫豫不愿转向贴现窗口的银行提供贷款。受贷款发放方式影响，TAF少了贴现窗口相关的一些劣势。金融企业必须进行竞标，这意味着他们支付的利率将被视为由市场决定，而不是一种罚款率。
而且相关资金三天后才发放，说明以这种方式借款的银行并不急需现金。
“这说明你还没有绝望，”梁奈利说。美联储在2010年3月结束TAF。
商业票据融资便利(CPFF)
在金融危机时期，美联储最接近向非金融企业直接提供借贷的方式就是建立CPFF。
商业票据市场是诸多企业短期融资的主要来源。在2008年市场冻结时，美联储建立了CPFF，藉由购买期限三个月的高评级、有资产支持的商业票据以帮助重新开启资金市场。此一融资便利在2010年关闭。
部分指标显示融资市场可能已经出现压力。最高评级非金融借款人与低一级借款人之间的利差本月明显变阔，目前处于近两年来最阔程度。
要判断当前的压力是否会增加到让美联储依据《联邦储备法》“不寻常与紧急情况”条款重新开启这类融资便利的程度，目前还言之过早。这项法律允许美联储借款给企业与个人。
央行流动性互换
美联储与其他五家主要央行(加拿大央行、欧洲央行、英国央行、日本央行和瑞士央行)签有常备协议，因此这些央行能够在资金吃紧时向各自金融机构提供美元。这些协议在2011年从临时安排转为常备安排。
美联储可能与这五大央行之外的其他央行达成协议，在必要时增加美元供应。
还有其他工具吗？
牛津经济研究院的首席美国金融分析师Kathy Bostjancic说，美联储还可创设更适合当前市况的新工具。“美联储的许多工具是针对当时困扰金融体系的具体问题而设立的，”Bostjancic说。
“这表明美联储可以创新。”
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) today announced that it will reduce interest rates by 0.5 percent, effective April 1.
According to the directive, the minimum bank deposit rate will be lowered to 7.5pc from 8pc, while the maximum lending rate will be lowered to 12.5pc for collateralised loans and 15.5pc for non-collateralised loans, from 13pc and 16pc, respectively.
The move comes shortly after the World Health Organization defined the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 12, triggering a collapse in global markets.
Central banks around the world have also eased rates to stimulate their economies. On March 11, the Bank of England announced an emergency rate cut by half a percentage point to 0.25pc.
The week before, the US Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by half a percentage point to a range between 1pc to 1.25pc, its deepest cut since 2008.
In Myanmar, the tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors have been hardest hit as a result of the pandemic.
There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in the country so far, but U Zaw Oo, an economist from the Centre of Economic and Social Development, warned that a weaker Chinese economy could slow foreign direct investments into Myanmar and delay China’s spending on key projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. These include the Muse cross border trade zone, China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and New Yangon City.
U Than Lwin senior consultant from Kanbawza Bank, said: “This is the right time to decrease the bank interest rate and drive the economy. The process of easing interest rates is very quick overseas and central banks are quick to respond to the needs of their economies. We need to reduce the bank’s interest rates in order to revitalise businesses in Myanmar.”
The CBM has long been under pressure to cut rates to more attractive levels to stimulate growth, but its officials have been hesitant to do so to keep the minimum deposit rate at a higher level than inflation, as this encourages savings.
According to the CBM, the annual rate of inflation is now 8.8pc.