Analysis｜Internet deposit regulatory documents are here, what are the impacts on technology platforms and banks?
After technology platforms have removed Internet deposit products one after another, the regulatory documents for Internet deposit business have come.
On January 15, the China Banking Regulatory Commission’s website announced that the General Office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the General Office of the People’s Bank of China have recently jointly issued the "Notice on Regulating Commercial Banks to Conduct Personal Deposit Business Through the Internet" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). Commercial banks conduct deposit business through the Internet in compliance with laws and regulations, and must not use the Internet or other means to violate or circumvent regulatory regulations, and commercial banks must not conduct fixed deposits and fixed-activity deposits through non-self-operated online platforms.
Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of China Merchants Finance and part-time researcher of Fudan University Institute of Finance, believes that the "Notice" is generally strict: First, the Internet fixed deposit business of commercial banks is strictly limited to self-operated online platforms (official website, mobile banking, etc.); second, Local banks are required to develop internet deposit business based on serving customers in the regions where they have established institutions.
However, Dong Ximiao also pointed out that the "Notice" is more pragmatic in terms of rectification and reform of stock business, allowing natural settlement at maturity (the cleanup of deposit products based on file interest is a “one size fits all”), which will help commercial banks to rectify and reform safely and transition safely , Maintaining an orderly and stable liquidity also helps protect the legitimate rights and interests of depositors.
At the same time, the "Notice" stated that certain exemption measures will be taken for internet banks, which are consistent with the spirit of exemption for internet banks in the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Loans of Commercial Banks, and will help encourage healthy innovation of internet banks.
"I think the impact of the current scene is relatively large." Chen Wen, director of the Digital Economy Research Center of the School of Finance of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, told The Paper.
Chen Wen said that because many Internet deposits are now fixed and active on non-self-operated platforms, they provide relatively high expected returns on the one hand, and guarantee liquidity on the other. The new rules are not allowed.
If it is a fixed time, in fact, for many investors, they hope to have liquidity and high returns. The income during the lifetime may be relatively low. If it is fixed time, there is no liquidity. This may be more attractive to investors. decline.
"Restricted non-self-operated Internet channels"
According to the "Notice", commercial banks are not allowed to conduct fixed deposit and fixed-activation deposit business through non-self-operated online platforms, including but not limited to non-self-operated online platforms to provide marketing promotion, product display, information transmission, purchase entrance, interest subsidy And other services.
And before the notice is issued, the existing stock business of commercial banks will be settled naturally.
Relevant commercial banks shall implement their main responsibilities, do a good job in communication and interpretation with customers, and handle existing business in a stable and orderly manner.
Self-operated network platform refers to a network platform that is independently operated and has complete data rights established by commercial banks in accordance with business needs.
In this regard, Su Xiaorui, a senior researcher at the Sack Research Institute, said that for commercial banks, this means that non-self-operating Internet channels are restricted. In addition to traditional purchase operations, product display and marketing are also prohibited, which means that commercial banks must Improve your own independence.
Chen Wen said that for many banks, they may consider developing self-operated channels to do both. However, for some small and medium-sized banks, they will still cooperate and may carry out some product innovations.
At the same time, Su Xiaorui pointed out that some Internet deposits had not been completely removed before, presumably as stock business.
For the Internet platform, this means the need to assist commercial banks in communicating and explaining their customers.
Prevent local corporate banks to break through geographical restrictions to develop business
The "Notice" also pointed out that local legal-person commercial banks must stick to their developmental positioning and ensure that deposit business carried out via the Internet is based on serving customers in the regions where the institutions are established.
There are no physical operating outlets, and the business is mainly carried out online, except for those that meet the requirements of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
"The Internet platform allows these rural banks and rural commercial banks that are actually relatively weak in anti-risk capabilities to achieve cross-regional storage, and it is possible to release the risks that were originally concentrated in one region to various places through the Internet." A mutual financial industry worker Practitioners told The Paper before this reporter.
Su Xiaorui said that previous supervision believed that local corporate banks had broken through geographical restrictions, depositing business has expanded to the whole country, and underlying liquidity risks existed, and pointed out that cross-regional risk small and medium-sized banks rely on Internet platforms to conduct remote transactions with depositors in other places. People’s real-name authentication and due diligence are different from offline transactions, and there may be potential compliance risks.
She believes that the focus of local corporate banks is to serve the regions where they have established institutions to prevent risk spillovers caused by small and medium-sized banks' cross-regional operations. However, private banks that do not have physical operating outlets and whose business is mainly carried out online are excluded.
In addition, the "Notice" also proposes that commercial banks should adopt effective technical means, strengthen network security protection in accordance with industry network security and data security standards and regulations, and ensure that commercial banks and depositors transfer information, sign agreements, and record transactions. The confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the link data ensure the information security of depositors.
Su Xiaorui said that information security and privacy protection have become a new subject of supervision. In the future, commercial banks need to strengthen information security and personal privacy protection. Supervision will also increase penalties in this area, and the possibility of issuing large fines will not be ruled out.
Small and medium banks may be affected
Internet deposit products refer to deposit products launched by commercial banks (especially small and medium-sized banks with high pressure to absorb deposits) with the help of Internet financial platforms. Commercial banks need to pay "diversion fees" and other handling fees to the Internet financial platforms.
Most of the commercial banks that have launched Internet deposit products are small and medium-sized banks.
Internet platforms have traffic and data and need traffic to be monetized. Banks have the "Deposit Insurance Regulations" to ensure that they need to reduce the pressure on storage and storage. The two sides hit it off and each takes what they need.
In November last year, Sun Tianqi, director of the Financial Stability Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, mentioned in the “Seminar on the Exploration and Application of Supervisory Technology in the Digital Finance Field” that during the development of the Internet deposit product business, there have been rapid growth in product scale and significant changes in deposit structure. Trends such as entry and operation of risky institutions, increased liquidity dependence, and the appearance of substitution effects of interbank financing, which have brought about problems involving deposit marketing behaviors, illegal promotion of deposit insurance protection, local corporate banks breaking geographical restrictions on business development, and challenges for small and medium banks in liquidity management .
On December 18th, Ant Group’s Alipay took the lead in delisting Internet deposit products. Tencent Licaitong, JD Finance, Duxiaoman Finance, Lufax, Tianxing Finance, Didi, Meituan, and 360you Wealth also stopped adding new products. Internet deposit products.
Su Xiaorui pointed out that although the Internet deposit business will also affect the Internet platform, the group most affected by the "Notice" may be small and medium-sized banks, because the capital replenishment channels of small and medium-sized banks are not as good as those of large banks, and they rely more on online deposits. Will face challenges.
Su Xiaorui suggested that in the future, commercial banks need to clarify their business structure and scale, and strengthen inter-bank financing to alleviate the impact of supervision; carefully evaluate regulatory indicators, such as liquidity matching ratio and high-quality liquid asset adequacy ratio , Core debt ratio and other important regulatory indicators, conduct stress testing; step up the balance of income structure, do a good job in refined customer operations, vigorously develop self-operated channels, and improve its own operating capabilities through new methods such as mobile banking and WeChat banking; local legal banks They should stick to their local status and cultivate intensively within their own capabilities.
"The next step is to maintain and suppress, and combine with deblocking, and strive to broaden the channels and sources of debt for small and medium banks." Dong Ximiao said.
The Paper, News Reporter Ye Yinghe