“开放—稳定”抑或“开放—脆弱”?外资持股对寿险公司财务稳定性的影响

"Opening up-stability"or"Opening up-fragility"?The Effects of Foreign Ownership on the Financial Stability of Life Insurers

在深化保险业对外开放的新阶段,关于这一问题的研究重心转向开放对保险公司风险的影响。本文利用2006~2019年79家寿险公司的数据,评估了外资持股对寿险公司财务稳定性的影响,研究结论支持“开放-稳定”观点,即外资持股比例越高,寿险公司财务稳定性越强。进一步研究发现,外资持股通过公司治理效应和技术溢出效应提升了公司财务稳定性。从公司治理角度看,当外资股权制衡越强、持股期限越长或为等股比合资时,寿险公司财务稳定性越高。从技术溢出角度看,外资持股的寿险公司偏向于选择更稳健的“负债驱动型”经营模式,并通过控制资产端风险促使公司整体财务状况更稳定。另外,外资持股可以缓解经济政策不确定性对寿险公司产生的负面影响。本文为实施深化保险业对外开放政策提供了经验证据,也有助于理解外资在寿险业稳健发展过程中的作用。

At the new stage of deepened opening up of the insurance industry,the research on this issue has focused more on the effects of opening-up on risks of insurance companies.This paper assesses the effects of foreign ownership on the financial stability of life insurance companies based on company-level data of 79 life insurers from 2006 to 2019.The conclusion supports the view of"opening up-stability",namely,the higher the proportion of foreign ownership the life insurance companies have,the better the fi-nancial stability of these companies.Further analysis reveals that the entry of foreign investors improves financial stability mainly through corporate governance effects and technology spillover effects.From the perspective of corporate governance,when foreign capital plays a stronger check and balance role,holds shares for a longer period or holds 50%of the share,life insurance compa-nies maintain greater financial stability.From the perspective of technology spillover,life insurance companies with foreign owner-ship tend to choose a robust"liability-driven"business model and stabilize the companies'financial situation by controlling the risks on the asset side.We also find that the presence of foreign capital can alleviate the negative impact of economic policy uncer-tainty on life insurers.This paper provides empirical evidences for the further opening-up policy and helps understand the role of foreign investors in the steady development of the life insurance industry.