Western banks are issuing more renminbi-denominated bonds in moves to gain an early foothold in a nascent¹ but potentially large capital market. 西方国家的银行正在发行更多人民币计价债券，目的是为了在一个新兴但潜在巨大的资本市场尽早获得一席立足之地。

Renminbi-denominated bonds from European banks have totalled $2.7bn so far in 2015, five times more than over the full year in 2014 and far above any previous year, according to data from Dealogic. 数据提供商Dealogic的数据显示，2015年迄今欧洲各银行发行的人民币计价债券总计27亿美元，是2014年全年的5倍多，且远高于以往任何一年。

Increased issuance from global lenders is one of the latest steps in the renminbi’s progress to internationalisation. 全球银行加大发债是人民币在国际化方面的最新进展之一。

Christoph Hittmair, global head of financial institutions debt capital markets at HSBC, said: “The renminbi is a currency that a lot of people are very interested in. They see it as a significant future growth market. For them [banks], it’s a good idea to establish their name early in that market and get investors² familiar with that credit.” 汇丰(HSBC)金融机构债务资本市场全球主管克里斯托夫?希特梅尔(Christoph Hittmair)说：“很多人都对人民币很感兴趣。他们视其为一个可观的未来增长市场。对它们（银行）来说，尽早在这一市场立足并让投资者熟悉自己的信誉，是一个好主意。”

Growing levels of issuance are echoed across the western banking³ world, with Australian and US banks also selling more renminbi-denominated debt in 2015. 不断提升的发债水平在整个西方银行业都有所体现，澳大利亚和美国的银行2015年也发售了更多人民币计价债券。

Overall sales of offshore⁴ renminbi-denominated, or dim sum, bonds have been quiet this year as onshore Chinese issuers have looked to tap into a booming equity⁵ market for funding. 今年，离岸人民币计价债券（俗称“点心债券”）的整体销售表现平平，原因是中国在岸发行方试图利用股票牛市进行融资。

Four rate cuts from the People’s Bank of China have also helped lower domestic borrowing costs. 中国央行的4次降息也帮助降低了国内借款成本。

But regulatory pressures — which have played a big role in bank issuance — are encouraging foreign banks to look to the renminbi market to issue bonds that also count as regulatory capital. 但是，在银行发债中扮演了重要角色的监管压力，正在鼓励外资银行到人民币市场发行同样被视为监管资本的债券。

“What we’ve seen this year is an increased ability to issue a wider range of bond structures, such as tier 2,” Mr Hittmair said. 希特梅尔说：“今年，我们看到了发行更多债券结构（如二级）的能力的提升。”

Non-China banks were able to do this on the back of stronger appetite, according to Andrew Carmichael, partner at Linklaters: “At the moment, interest rates are so low, investors are looking for yield and will take higher risk products. A [non-Chinese] bank can look at this and say OK, I can do a tier 2 deal and I get effectively cheap capital. It’s the beginning. It should become a relatively⁶ normal thing. If the market is there, European banks will borrow.”

年利达律师事务所(Linklaters)合伙人安德鲁?卡迈克尔(Andrew Carmichael)认为，非中资银行能够这样做，因为市场胃口较大。他说：“目前，利率如此之低，投资者正在寻找收益，他们将接受风险较高的产品。一家（非中资）银行看到这一点，然后说，好啊，我可以做一个二级交易，得到实际上廉价的资本。这是一个开始。这应该变成相对平常的一件事。只要有市场，欧洲的银行就会借款。”