The plan of the year is spring.
For the banking industry, this phrase has a more special meaning.
Adhering to the concept of "setting the whole year for the first quarter" and pursuing the goal of "starting well and making a good year for the whole year", the marketing activities at the beginning of each year have become a "battle" that commercial banks must fight.
At this time in previous years, the battle for the "good start" of various bank outlets has long been filled with gunpowder.
A reporter from China Securities Journal found during a recent investigation in the Beijing area that at the beginning of the year, the marketing splendor of bank outlets pulling deposits and selling wealth management was no longer, not only the activity was reduced, but also the publicity was much smaller.
According to expert analysis, changes such as the easing of debt pressure, the transformation of wealth management products, the lowering of asset returns, and the strengthening of profit orientation have led to a decline in banks' willingness to attract customers with large sums of money.
Looking back, whether it is the bank's "good start battle" or the "season end-of-the-season battle", it may not be as intense as before.
The "good start" situation is flat
In the banking industry, it is widely rumored that "a good start, a good year".
The "good start" is only once a year, and no one dares to take it lightly.
A reporter from China Securities Journal recently investigated and found that this year's "good start" for banks is not very intense.
A prominent change is that in previous years, the “smart and refreshing” marketing method of raising product interest rates (yield), which was common in previous years, has been significantly reduced.
This is more evident in deposit products.
The reporter noticed that there are not many targeted storage acquisition activities at present, and it is even rarer to increase the interest rate of deposit products in stages.
The fixed deposit products of major banks have raised interest rates for specific groups such as new customers, "potential customers", and large customers, but they are also normalized marketing activities. They were not launched recently, and interest rates have not been further raised recently.
In recent years, there have been more promotions related to large-denomination certificates of deposit, the main deposit product promoted by banks, but the interest rate has the characteristics of following the market.
In terms of wealth management products, the increase in yield has almost disappeared.
"At present, our bank does not have short-term wealth management products (products) with high yields. The annualized rate of return for one-year terms is basically around 3%. We can consider products with longer terms." At the branch of a large state-owned bank in Beijing, the wealth management manager Telling a reporter from China Securities Journal, this year, in order to "make a good start", the bank has come up with a newly released bancassurance product with a term of 5 years. Term other products are about 0.3 percentage points higher.
At another branch branch of a joint-stock branch, a wealth management manager said bluntly: "At present, the focus of major banks' wealth management product sales is not mainly promoting 'opening success' products, and even some banks do not promote 'opening success' products at all." The reporter noticed that in this A light-emitting board placed in the branch of the bank is written with several currently popular wealth management products. The term starts from 6 months and can be as long as 2 years. The performance comparison benchmark has not changed significantly compared with the previous year.
The competitive landscape has changed
As the most important marketing campaign of the year in the banking industry, why has the battle of "good start" become dull?
According to industry observers, there may be many reasons.
For example, the pressure of competition for bank liabilities has eased; the interest rates of some banks’ deposit products are already close to the ceiling, and there is no room for continued increase; after the implementation of the new asset management regulations, wealth management products have accelerated the transformation of net worth, and the yields will follow the market, and there is no room for maneuvering. .
Reducing the cost of social financing is an important goal of my country's financial policy in recent years. In addition to encouraging banks to make profits, relevant parties have also done a lot of work in "reducing the burden" of banks.
In recent years, a series of measures such as strengthening the management of the deposit market, regulating Internet deposits and structured deposits, and optimizing the self-discipline ceiling of deposit interest rates have gradually achieved results. In addition, the liquidity of the banking system has continued to be abundant, and the pressure on banks' liabilities has been eased.
"In response to the new downward pressure on the economy, the People's Bank of China has recently adopted a variety of policy operations to maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity in the banking system, which has reduced the competitive pressure of commercial banks around the debt side." said Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher at the Financial Market Department of China Everbright Bank.
Liang Si, a researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute, said that the current bond and loan interest rates on the asset side are declining. In order to cope with the pressure of narrowing net interest margins, under the guidance of profit goals, banks have insufficient motivation to attract customers with high interest rates.
The reporter learned from a wealth management manager of a large state-owned bank that the branch where he is located has greatly reduced the marketing expenses of the "Good Start" campaign this year.
As for wealth management products, a city commercial bank wealth management manager said the key: "After the implementation of the new asset management regulations, now the wealth management products are all net worth type, and the rate of return cannot be guaranteed.
The reporter checked the webpages and mobile APPs of many banks and noticed that the "good start" activity is not gone, but the "movement" is small.
A major bank has launched a "points for money" activity, users can exchange points for electronic payment red envelopes.
Another big bank launched the "National Benefit Season" campaign, including lottery draws, product purchase rewards, asset enhancement rewards and other activities.
A city commercial bank launched an event called "Tiger Leaps for the New Year", which focused on displaying the best products, and launched a variety of activities such as lottery draws, mini games, asset enhancement rewards, and new customer rewards.
In the opinion of some industry observers, "a good start" still has special meaning for banks, and the weakening of the "war situation" this year is more due to changes in the market and policy environment.
"Dislocation development" replaces "hand-to-hand combat"
The reporter found that ordinary people's enthusiasm for buying "good start" wealth management products from banks has gradually declined. There are two main reasons: First, bank wealth management is no longer "guaranteed", and second, the continuous decline in yields has reduced the attractiveness.
"In the past, wealth management products guaranteed capital and guaranteed income. If you buy them at the beginning of the year, the interest rate will be much higher than other times, which is very cost-effective. Now they have become floating income. Many wealth management managers turn to recommend funds or fixed income products, and the rate of return will also be higher. Fluctuates, and may even lose money." said Zhang Shu, an employee of a company.
Wang Meng, who just issued the year-end bonus, told reporters: "I am more inclined to invest in products such as large-denomination certificates of deposit that guarantee capital and return, but the interest rate of large-denomination certificates of deposit is not very high now."
Many people in the industry have pointed out that the current stable growth has been placed in a more important position, the possibility of future interest rate cuts cannot be ruled out, and the market interest rate still has a downward trend.
In the context of declining interest rates, industry insiders pointed out that considering the decline in asset-side yields, the pressure to achieve profitability goals is increasing, and the management department also intends to curb disorderly competition. No matter whether it is a "reserve war", it may not be as fierce as before.
For commercial banks, product marketing will instead focus on long-term and sustainable, and highlight specialization, while stabilizing and expanding specific groups of customers, replacing "hand-to-hand combat" with "dislocated development".