At a press conference held on April 22, Huang Hong, vice chairman of the China Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission, introduced the work of the banking insurance industry in supporting epidemic prevention and control as well as the development of the real economy.
First, we will do our best to provide financial services for epidemic prevention and control. The banking institutions effectively use the funds of reduction, re loan and rediscount, take the initiative to connect with the production and transportation enterprises of important medical and living materials, and provide interest rate preference and special loan lines. Insurance institutions should set up fast service channels for the customers affected by the epidemic situation, expand the scope of insurance compensation liability appropriately, and strive to achieve the coverage and compensation.
Second, timely provide liquidity support for enterprises, and strive to help small and medium-sized enterprises through difficulties. By the end of the first quarter, inclusive small and micro enterprise loans increased by 25.93% year-on-year. The interest rate of new inclusive small and micro enterprise loans issued by five large banks was 4.3%, a further decrease of 0.3 percentage points on the basis of 2019. Efforts were made to increase credit loans. In the first quarter, the amount of credit loans to enterprises, merchants and individual operators increased by 2.5 trillion yuan, nearly twice the increase of the same period last year. In the first quarter, a total of 576.8 billion yuan of loans were renewed, of which nearly 90% were invested in small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses. The policy of delayed repayment of principal and interest for enterprise loans has been implemented. At present, the loan principal and interest of more than 880 billion yuan has been delayed. At the same time, the repayment plans for personal housing mortgage loans and consumer loans have been flexibly arranged to effectively reduce the repayment pressure of enterprises and residents.
The third is to maintain the stability of the supply chain of the industrial chain and support the coordinated resumption of production of the industrial chain. Vigorously develop the supply chain finance, actively connect with the core enterprises of the industrial chain, and provide financing support for the upstream and downstream enterprises of the industrial chain through the pledge of accounts receivable, orders and warehouse receipts, so as to ensure the smooth flow of funds in the industrial chain. At the end of the first quarter, the banking industry provided daily capital turnover support to 218000 core enterprises in the industrial chain with a balance of 21.4 trillion yuan; provided financing support to 297000 upstream enterprises in the industrial chain with a balance of 5.8 trillion yuan; provided financing support to 353000 downstream enterprises in the industrial chain with a balance of 9.3 trillion yuan.
Fourth, we will increase financial support for the real economy and boost domestic demand. In the first quarter, RMB loans increased by 7.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3 trillion yuan, focusing on manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and infrastructure industries. Related loans increased by 1.1 trillion yuan, 0.9 trillion yuan, and 1.5 trillion yuan respectively, effectively supporting the development of high-tech manufacturing industry, transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, residents and public consumption, and infrastructure investment. We will vigorously support direct financing such as bonds and equity, and provide comprehensive financing services for enterprises. In the first quarter, banks and insurance institutions increased bond investment by 2 trillion yuan, including more than 360 billion yuan of new corporate credit bond investment. The new equity investment of insurance funds is 126.3 billion yuan.
The fifth is to give full play to the function of insurance guarantee. We will actively expand the scope of claims settlement, improve the speed and efficiency of claims settlement, and spend 301.9 billion yuan on insurance claims in the first quarter. During the epidemic period, we actively met the needs of social risk insurance, vigorously developed and promoted health insurance and other insurance products, and the health insurance business increased by 21.5% year-on-year. We will give full play to the role of credit guarantee insurance in sharing credit losses. In the first quarter, we will pay 16.1 billion yuan, an increase of 50% year on year.
Hitherto unknown, novel coronavirus pneumonia has brought unprecedented impact on China's economic and social development. The impact of the outbreak of the epidemic has been on the increase of overdue loans and default, and the number of non-performing loans has increased. The banking industry still maintains a strong ability to resist risks, and all regulatory indicators are at a high level.
