Following the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China also recently announced that the proposed issuance of 50 billion yuan of total loss-absorbing capacity non-capital bonds (hereinafter referred to as "TLAC non-capital bonds") was approved by the board of directors. Previously, Bank of China had announced that it intends to issue write-down Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) non-capital debt instruments in batches, with an issuance size of no more than RMB 150 billion or its equivalent in foreign currency.
It is understood that TLAC non-capital bonds are financial bonds issued by G-SIBS (global systemically important banks) to meet the requirements of total loss absorption capacity, which have the function of absorbing losses and do not belong to the capital of commercial banks. Total loss-absorbing capacity refers to the sum of capital and debt instruments that can absorb losses through write-downs or conversion into common equity when global systemically important banks enter the resolution phase.
It is worth noting that TLAC non-capital bonds have the function of absorbing losses but do not belong to bank capital, and contain special terms such as inferior repayment order, conditional redemption rights, write-downs or equity conversions, and their subordinated attributes are weaker than Tier 2 capital bonds and perpetual bonds, but stronger than commercial and financial bonds.
Industry insiders believe that the new type of TLAC bonds give banks more room to supplement their capital, and on the whole, the issuance of TLAC gives financial institutions sufficient loss absorption capacity in crisis management, which is conducive to enhancing the risk resistance of banks and improving the soundness of the financial system, which is also a milestone for China's important banks to enter the implementation stage of TLAC standards.
For a long time, China has been interested in TLAC's non-capital new bonds. In the Measures for the Management of Total Loss Absorption Capacity of Global Systemically Important Banks issued by the People's Bank of China, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance in October 2021, the TLAC regulatory requirements include two: the risk-weighted ratio of total external loss absorption capacity shall not be less than 16% from January 1, 2025, and shall not be less than 18% from January 1, 2028; The leverage ratio of the total external loss absorption capacity shall not be less than 6% from January 1, 2025 and 675%。
Later, in April 2022, the People's Bank of China and the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the Notice on Matters Concerning the Issuance of Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity Non-Capital Bonds by Global Systemically Important Banks, officially launching the innovative product tool of TLAC non-capital bonds.
According to the 2023 list of global systemically important banks released in November last year, the five major state-owned commercial banks, namely Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications, have entered the latest G-SIBS list released by the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
According to the report of Everbright**'s financial industry research team, as of the end of the third quarter of 2023, the TLAC risk-weighted ratios of ICBC, ABC, BOC and CCB were respectively. 6%。It is not difficult to find that these banks are still far from the 16% regulatory requirement, and the Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China, which have announced their intention to issue bonds, are larger than the other two.