China Times (www.chinatimes.net.cn) reporter Lu Mengxue Ran Xuedong Beijing report
"For those who have guaranteed their capital, you can take a look at our structured deposit , the interest rate is higher than that of deposits." On October 10, a reporter from " China Times " visited several banks to inquire about low-risk financial products, and a bank account manager recommended it.
The China Times reporter noticed that many joint-stock banks and small and medium-sized banks have structured deposit products, and some have recently launched a number of exchange rate-linked products, and structured deposits linked to the US dollar exchange rate are particularly favored. The difference is that there are few structured deposit products under large state-owned banks, and some banks do not even have structured deposits on sale. Since
regulatory requirements for reducing structured deposits, it is rare for commercial banks to actively recommend this type of product. The report of Rong360 Digital Technology Research Institute shows that overall, the scale of structured deposits this year is relatively stable, and the trend of pressure drop is not obvious. At the same time, the average maturity of RMB structured deposits issued by banks in August was shortened, and the average expected intermediate yield fell month-on-month, and has been declining for three consecutive months.
Relevant analysts believed in an interview with a reporter from the China Times that deposit interest rates continue to fall, financial products do not guarantee capital and unstable returns. Relatively speaking, structured deposits meet the needs of bank customers and the needs of liability management and asset-liability indicator adjustments. But overall, it has not become a common phenomenon for banks to recommend structured deposits, which may be related to the differences in different banks' deposit acquisition policies in different periods.
guarantees principal and has higher interest rates
"Although the interest rate of structured deposits is more attractive than ordinary deposits, it should be noted that many of these products have no profits during the deposit period, and customers are also facing the risk of paying liquidated damages." A bank account manager reminded at the same time.
A reporter from the China Times learned from the business department of a city commercial bank that compared with before the National Day, the number of structured deposit products has decreased from 8 to 3, but all are linked to the spot exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar. Currently, the deposit period of the three is around 96 days, and the expected rate of return is basically "1.40% or 3.00%.
is similar to Everbright Bank . The bank's eight existing structured deposit products are all linked to the exchange rate of US dollar to Canadian dollar . The deposit term is between 18 days and 6 months. The expected annualized rate of return is divided into three levels, generally between 0.80% and 3.28%.
There are also account managers of many joint-stock banks and city commercial banks that recommend structured deposits. A reporter from the China Times noticed that many joint-stock banks and small and medium-sized banks currently have their own structured deposit products, and have recently launched a number of exchange rate-linked products. However, the number of structured deposits under large state-owned banks is relatively small. Bank of China , Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , Postal Savings Bank , Agricultural Bank of China and other companies do not even have structured deposit products on sale.
It is worth noting that the expected rate of return of most structured deposits is not fixed and is generally divided into several levels.
The structured deposit products of each bank are marked with the interest rate calculation method in the product manual. Taking a structured deposit product of Everbright Bank that is linked to the exchange rate of USD to Canadian dollar as an example, the product's income is divided into three levels: 3.28% or 3.18% or 1.75%. Calculated based on the actual exchange rate changes, see the figure below for details:
Everbright Bank's structured deposit product interest rate determination method
USD product is favored
" The yield of the structured deposit of this US dollar is good, with an annual yield of about 3%, which is relatively high among similar products."
Xia Yun (pseudonym), an account manager of a branch of Minsheng Bank Chaoyang District, told the reporter of the China Times that a structured deposit investment currency called "Minsheng Overseas ESG Asset Rotation Index Structured Deposits (USD)" of the bank is US dollar, with a deposit term of 367 days. It has been affected by the trend of the US dollar exchange rate and has performed well recently.
"This product does not involve exchanges between US dollars and RMB, it is more suitable if you have US dollars in your hand.If you don’t have US dollars in your hand, you can only look at other RMB financial products , which are linked to the US dollar exchange rate. However, these products involve redeeming the RMB, and you need to consider exchange for foreign exchange. The final calculation is actually not appropriate. "Xia Yun pointed out to reporters that most structured deposit products linked to foreign exchange have a maximum yield of around 4%. If the RMB exchange rate appreciates by 5% against the US dollar during the investment period, it is equivalent to an actual loss.
According to the exchange rate, taking Minsheng Bank as an example, according to the bank's latest foreign exchange price on October 11, the bank needs about RMB 72,051 to buy US$10,000, but it will sell cash exchange to the bank, and can only exchange RMB about 71,777, and the price difference reaches 274 yuan. If you sell US$10,000 cash to the bank, you can only get RMB 71,267, and the price difference reaches 510 yuan.
"And the reference annualized return of structured deposits is not fixed, and it is generally divided into several levels, and it cannot be viewed only based on the highest rate of return. "Xia Yun pointed out that this type of structured deposit is different from general financial products. It is impossible to see the past unit net value trend and rate of return. It can only check the specific rate of return after the product expires.
The reporter of the China Times noticed that, unlike most banks with short structured deposit periods and most deposit periods do not exceed one year, Minsheng Bank has launched a number of long-term structured deposit products, up to 1,096 days.
"There is another thing to note that structured deposits are different from ordinary fixed deposits. If withdrawn within the deposit period, you can still get the returns of current deposits. If such products are withdrawn in advance, there is no profit, and customers also need to pay a certain liquidated damages. "Xia Yun told the reporter of the China Times that structured deposits will currently point out in the product description that in advance withdrawals are not allowed, but if there are special circumstances, it must be withdrawn. Some banks will charge a 2.5% penalty, so if you purchase long-term structured deposits, you must be cautious.
"You can configure some short-term structured deposits, and it is more appropriate to guarantee principal and interest. If you have a long-term period, you can consider allocating some insurance and financial management to diversify your assets. "Xia Yun recommended. The advantages of
products once again highlighted that
structured deposits refer to deposits embedded in financial derivatives absorbed by commercial banks. By linking to fluctuations in interest rates, exchange rates, indexes, etc. or linking to the credit status of a certain entity, depositors can obtain corresponding returns on the basis of taking certain risks. Since the promulgation of the new asset management regulations, structured deposits have been regarded as a substitute for guaranteed financial products, and their scale has expanded rapidly. The risks are gradually exposed.
is to regulate the market. In 2019, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission "Notice on Further Standardizing the Structured Deposit Business of Commercial Banks" proposed that banks should have the qualifications to issue structured deposits in general derivatives trading business and implement relevant regulatory regulations on derivatives trading. Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of
China Merchants Financial , once pointed out in an interview with a reporter from the China Times that the regulatory department Strengthen the supervision of structured deposits, one is to target some fake structured deposits, which are not really linked to financial derivatives. In addition, some banks have not obtained financial derivative qualifications, but still issue structured deposits, or some small and medium-sized banks have issued structured deposit products through other banks' curves, and other irregular behaviors to prevent banks from using structured deposits to attract deposits in disguise with high interest rates.
Since then, regulatory authorities have also continuously reduced their scale. Data shows that the structured in December 2021 The deposit scale has dropped by 58.12% compared with the peak in April 2020.
At the same time, many bank wealth management products have gradually appeared in the market. Compared with structured deposits, some low-risk stable bank wealth management products have higher yields, richer varieties, more flexible maturity, and less attractive structured deposits. Therefore, for a long time, including at the beginning of this year, it is difficult to see bank account managers actively recommend structured deposits in the market.
Since the beginning of this year, on the one hand, affected by the fluctuations in the capital market, the overall yield of bank wealth management products has performed poorly than expected, and even a large-scale net loss has occurred. Many bank customers have had a more intuitive experience of breaking rigid redemption. On the other hand, starting from September 15 this year, large state-owned banks have lowered deposit interest rates, and then joint-stock banks and small and medium-sized banks have continued to follow up, and the advantages of personal ordinary deposit yields have further declined.
"Under the current market environment, the attractiveness of structured deposits is prominent." On October 11, Yang Haiping, a researcher at the Securities and Futures Institute of Central University of Finance and Economics and general manager of the Research and Development Department of Inner Mongolia Bank, pointed out in an interview with a reporter from the China Times that some banks are actively recommending structured deposits, on the one hand, for ensuring the investment rate of customers and maintaining the needs of customers; on the other hand, it may be due to the consideration of liability management and asset-liability indicator adjustments throughout the bank.
"The situation of strongly recommending structured deposits has not been discovered, but it has only appeared in some banks. It should be the differences in deposit-raising policies of different banks in different periods." Liu Yinping, an analyst at Rong360 Digital Technology Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from the China Times.
expected intermediate yield decline
Central Bank data shows that as of the end of July 2022, the balance of structured deposits of Chinese national banks was 5635.22 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 1.4% and a year-on-year decrease of 8.41%. Specifically, the scale of structured deposits of large banks and small and medium-sized banks decreased month-on-month, with a decrease of 0.09% and 2.49% respectively; the scale of structured deposits of large banks and small and medium-sized banks increased month-on-month, with a increase of 4.64% and 2.18% respectively.
Wind data shows that since 2022, as of October 10, 1,010 listed companies have allocated financial management products, and deposits, bank wealth management products, structured deposits, securities company wealth management, fixed deposits, etc. are all included in the allocation, of which the subscription amount of structured deposits reached 528.742 billion yuan, accounting for the highest proportion, reaching 63.69%. Statistics from
Rong360 Digital Technology Research Institute show that overall, the scale of structured deposits this year is relatively stable, and the trend of pressure drop is not obvious.
Data source: Rong360 Digital Technology Research Institute
Liu Yinping pointed out to the reporter of the China Times that the reason why the downward trend of structural deposits has not been obvious since this year is that after the continuous downward pressure from 2020 to 2021, the current scale of structured deposits is not high, and there are no further downward requirements in supervision; on the other hand, some small and medium-sized banks still have a certain dependence on structured deposits, especially during the period of tight liquidity or the end-of-quarter assessment.
On the other hand, according to incomplete statistics from the Rong360 Digital Technology Research Institute report, the average term of RMB structured deposits issued by banks in August 2022 was 146 days, a 7-day shortening from the previous month; the average expected intermediate rate of return was 2.91%, a decrease of 4BP month-on-month; the intermediate rate of return of structured deposits is relatively close to the actual rate of return, and the average expected intermediate rate of return has declined for three consecutive months.
"Bank net interest margin level continues to narrow. In the past two years, banks have also continued to reduce their debt levels. The deposit interest rate has gradually declined. The actual interest rate of structured deposits must be significantly higher than that of ordinary deposits, and there is room for further reduction of interest rates." Liu Yinping said that banks should optimize the deposit structure and first reduce the quantity and price level of high-cost deposits. The yield and scale of structured deposits may decline in the future.
"However, state-owned banks have less dependence on structured deposits, the scale of structured deposits accounts for a smaller proportion and the yield is lower, so there will be certain differences in the adjustment time and range of different periods and different banks." Liu Yinping believes.
Yang Haiping also believes that it is relatively difficult for joint-stock banks and small and medium-sized banks to maintain customers and manage assets and liabilities. Therefore, this may be the reason why some joint-stock banks and small and medium-sized banks have a large number of structured deposit products, but the number of large state-owned banks is relatively small.
"Structural deposits have their value in maintaining customers and optimizing asset-liability structure, so bank structured deposits will remain relatively stable in the future," said Yang Haiping.
