Bankrolling customers is a classic tactic to generate sales. European telecoms equipment providers did it to less than great effect when third-generation networks first ramped up. The sector had an estimated $26bn in outstanding vendor finance in 2000. Other industries followed, often to little avail. Reed Elsevier, the Anglo-Dutch publisher, was unable to ditch its magazine titles last year, even when it provided a $330m cheque. Banks, trying to shift assets, are jumping on the bandwagon: Barclays of the UK is reportedly offering financing to woo buyers for iShares, its US exchange traded fund manager. Even the US government is in on the act. The latest plan for migrating toxic assets off banks' balance sheets is, at bottom, vendor financing with Washington footing the bill.
为顾客提供资金是创造销售额的一种经典战术。第三代网络蓬勃兴起时，欧洲电信设备供应商们就是这么做的，但效果并不明显。2000年，该行业未偿还卖方融资达260亿美元。其它行业纷纷效仿，但通常收效甚微。英荷合资的出版公司里德•爱思维尔(Reed Elsevier)尽管掏出3.3亿美元的支票，仍无法甩掉旗下的杂志部门。银行为调整资产配置，也开始参与卖方融资。据报道，英国巴克莱银行(Barclay)将为买家提供融资，以促成旗下美国交易型开放式指数基金管理公司iShares的出售。就连美国政府也不例外。最近推出的把不良资产转出银行资产负债表的计划，本质上就是由华盛顿买单的卖方融资。