core reading

  In response to the financing difficulties of technology-based SMEs, Qingdao, Shandong has launched a patent pledge insurance loan model.

This model transforms the bank's 100% loan risk into the insurance company, the bank and the guarantee company for risk sharing, builds a platform for integrating resources, and achieves a win-win situation for all parties.

  Since the launch of the patent pledge insurance loan model, a total of 382 loans have been issued to 212 technology-based SMEs, totaling 1.367 billion yuan.

  A penny beats a hero.

With the order in hand, but the funds are stretched, at this moment, this sentence popped out of Zhao Qiang's mind.

  Zhao Qiang is the executive director of Haier Group's commercial display equipment small and micro intelligent interconnection platform (hereinafter referred to as "interconnection platform"). The company mainly develops intelligent desks and is a technology-based small and medium-sized enterprise.

In 2019, the new product was successfully developed, but when it was about to be mass-produced, it encountered financing difficulties.

  "It's too difficult!" Zhao Qiang recalls it with fresh memory. "Fortunately, at that time, Qingdao City, Shandong Province had launched a patent pledge insurance loan, which solved the urgent need!"

  Patent financing to help enterprises get out of trouble

  After more than two years, Zhao Qiang finally successfully developed the smart desk, and got the first order through bidding.

But he didn't expect that he encountered difficulties when he took out the loan.

  According to banking practice, corporate loans must be secured by fixed assets.

However, technology-based SMEs such as Internet platforms are asset-light, and patented technologies are often the core competitiveness.

  Zhao Qiang also tried to find a VC, but he had to give up because of the long cycle, harsh terms, interference in management and many other reasons.

  "It can be said that the eyebrows were burning at that time." Zhao Qiang said that in order to engage in research and development, all the personal assets of several partners were mortgaged.

  Biting the bullet, Zhao Qiang was going to try another bank, but unexpectedly, a turning point appeared.

  Through the introduction of the bank, he learned that the Qingdao Intellectual Property Affairs Center has launched a patent pledge insurance loan model in order to alleviate the financing problems of small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises.

  This time, the Internet platform was recommended by the bank, passed the patent evaluation of the patent agency, the due diligence of the guarantee company, the pre-guarantee survey of the insurance company, the pre-loan review of the commercial bank, and finally received the approval. Obtained a loan of 2 million yuan.

  Since then, the development of the Internet platform has entered a fast lane, with an average annual growth rate of 30%. It is expected that the turnover will exceed 100 million yuan in 2022.

  Return to the market, perform their duties

  The plight of connected platforms is not an exception.

Difficult and expensive financing has always been a bottleneck for the development of SMEs, affecting the timely transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

  Liu Jianzhi, director of Qingdao Intellectual Property Affairs Center, believes that in order to alleviate financing difficulties, it is mainly necessary to resolve risks and meet the requirements of financial institutions for risk control.

Therefore, in 2015, Qingdao City explored the introduction of insurance institutions into patent-pledged loans.

  During the implementation process, the Qingdao Intellectual Property Affairs Center under the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision organized patent evaluation, insurance, guarantee, banking and brokerage service agencies to establish a patent pledge insurance loan service alliance, formulated the alliance charter and working procedures, and established professional The “recommendation, evaluation and guarantee insurance loan” workflow has been streamlined, and a risk resolution system for patent-pledged insurance loans has been launched.

  What is unique about this system?

  In order to strengthen risk control, Qingdao City adopts the method recommended by the district and municipal authorities or alliance agencies to select loan companies.

After that, intellectual property consulting agencies will conduct legal, technical and economic evaluations of the patents to be pledged, transforming from traditional agency to intellectual property operation, serving guarantees, insurance and banks.

The three types of financial institutions transform the bank's 100% loan risk into insurance, the bank and the guarantee to share the risk in a ratio of 6:2:2 to form a co-insurance body.

  After screening through the five links of recommendation, evaluation, guarantee, insurance, and loan, technology-based SMEs such as Internet platforms can successfully obtain loans.

  For enterprises that have obtained patent pledge insurance loans, Qingdao City will also provide certain policy support, providing 50% subsidy for interest rates, and 60% subsidy for insurance premiums generated by enterprises purchasing insurance.

  At present, 9 insurance companies, 16 banks, 8 local guarantee companies and other financial institutions including the People's Insurance Company of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, etc. have joined the Quality Loan Alliance.

  In 2021, the Quality Loan Alliance will complete the loan approval process for 82 technology-based SMEs, and will issue 320 million yuan in loans.

Since the launch of the patent pledge insurance loan model, a total of 382 loans have been issued to 212 small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises, with a total of 35.08 million yuan of financial aid funds and 1.367 billion yuan of bank loans.

  Professional service, mutual benefit and win-win

  "In recent years, it is obvious that loan guarantee insurance has become more popular among small and medium-sized enterprises." Li Wei, assistant general manager of the contracting department of Taiping Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Qingdao Branch, analyzed that this is also due to the participation of insurance institutions in patent pledge insurance. In the loan, it actually fulfills the function of guaranteeing credit enhancement for the insured.

  But before, loan guarantee insurance was generally regarded as a high-risk area by insurance managers, and few people touched it.

On the one hand, because of information asymmetry, on the other hand, the risks are relatively concentrated, and the industry is very cautious, and the underwriting capacity that can or is willing to release is relatively limited.

  In Qingdao's patent pledge insurance loan model, insurance companies need to take the highest risk. Why are they still willing to participate?

  "Although we have to bear 60% of the risk, we are more confident in risk control. We can carry out independent due diligence among the three parties of our co-insurance body, evaluate the enterprise from the perspective of their own risk identification, and control the risk in a more in-depth and comprehensive way at the front end. Loans can only be formed if the three parties agree." Li Wei said, "With risk sharing, financial institutions feel that the risk has been significantly reduced, and their enthusiasm will naturally be higher."

  However, if there is a risk, how to solve it?

  Once the company defaults, the compensation mechanism is triggered, and the insurance company pays the bank.

After the pledged patented technology is disposed of, the three-party financial institutions can share the disposal expenses according to the co-insurance ratio, of which the insurance company is 60%.

"Compensation is compensated, which means revenue sharing, which reduces our losses and further enhances the attractiveness of such loans," Li Wei said.

  In fact, there have been problems with triggering risks.

Liu Jianzhi explained that the company's unpaid loans will cause overdue penalty interest on bank loans, resulting in compound interest and large losses, while insurance companies will lag in fulfilling their compensation obligations, and the compensation period is about 30 days.

Moreover, if the enterprise is overdue, commercial insurance does not provide protection for punitive and breaching bad behaviors.

  To this end, the local patent pledge insurance loan model solves the problem by introducing a guarantee company, which not only shares 20% of the loan risk, but also assumes temporary repayment responsibility when the company defaults, which straightens out the risk resolution system in practice.

  At the beginning of 2021, Qingdao launched the implementation evaluation of the “Qingdao Municipal Measures for Risk Compensation of Patent Pledged Loans for Technology-based Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises” to further improve the risk compensation mechanism for intellectual property pledge financing; And included in the Municipal Government's "Several Policies on Implementing the Provincial Financial Policies to Support Eight Development Strategies and Accelerating the High-quality Development of Key Industries".

  "The patent pledge insurance loan model has built a platform for integrating resources, taking into account the interests of all parties, and at the same time providing services to each other to achieve a win-win situation for all parties. Otherwise, the platform would have no vitality. This is like 'sugar haws', although the size is not One, string it up and wrap it in sugar, everyone is the same sweet!" Liu Jianzhi said.