Our reporter Peng Yan
Recently, Ms. Zhang, an investor in Beijing, broke the news to the "Securities Daily" reporter that a trust product of 3 million yuan purchased by the Bank of East Asia was overdue, and the bank salesperson promised to guarantee the principal and interest when purchasing.
At the same time, she introduced that there are not a few investors with the same experience.
As of press time, the Bank of East Asia has not yet announced any substantive solutions.
In recent years, it is not uncommon for the trust products sold by banks to default.
In this regard, industry insiders said that some commercial banks do have some problems in the agency sales of third-party products, especially trust products, such as excessive interest orientation and lack of investor education.
In order to solve similar problems, banks should strengthen investor suitability management, fully reveal product risks, and operate in compliance with laws and regulations; investors who buy trust products should not only focus on returns, but also fully understand the capabilities of relevant management institutions, underlying assets and risk control measures. situation etc.
Bank of East Asia suspected of illegal sales
Ms. Zhang told the "Securities Daily" reporter that on September 2, 2020, she purchased 3 million yuan of consignment trust products at the Beijing Branch of the Bank of East Asia (hereinafter referred to as "Bank of East Asia"). , but has not yet obtained a clear redemption time and corresponding solution.
It is reported that the trust product was issued by a trust company and sold by Bank of East Asia.
The contract plan shows that the fundraising scale of the project does not exceed 700 million yuan, the purchase starts at 3 million yuan, the closing period is 12 months, and the performance comparison benchmark is 6%.
"At the time of purchase, the bank sales staff did not introduce the product situation in detail and reminded the relevant risks, but said that this is a very safe financial product, which can protect the principal and interest, and many people bought it." Ms. Zhang recalled.
In this regard, the reporter also obtained confirmation from the above-mentioned sales staff.
According to the bank's back-end system interface provided by the salesperson, the property of the trust product sold by the agency is "guaranteed and floating income".
However, the reporter inquired about the plan description of the trust product and found that according to the nature of investment, the plan is a fixed-income product with a risk level of R3, and there is no commitment to guarantee principal and interest.
It can be seen that the salesperson's description of "principal protection and interest guarantee" does not match the product description in the trust plan, and is suspected of exaggeration, false publicity and misleading statements and other illegal operations.
In this regard, Yang Zhaoquan, the director and lawyer of Beijing Weinuo Law Firm, told the "Securities Daily" reporter that when selling wealth management products, banks cover up product risks, promise to guarantee principal and income, and bear administrative and civil compensation liabilities.
In terms of administrative responsibility, the bank's illegal sales will be investigated and punished by the regulatory authorities.
The regulatory authorities will impose administrative penalties such as fines on banks based on factors such as the duration of illegal sales and the amount of sales.
For investors, because the bank failed to truthfully inform the product risks, and violated regulations to promise to guarantee the principal and income, it constituted illegal sales.
According to the relevant judicial interpretation of the Supreme People's Court, in the event that investors cannot redeem their wealth management products, the bank should bear some or even all compensation for the losses of investors.
Meng Bo, a lawyer from Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, said that in judicial practice, courts usually focus on whether the agency has fulfilled its obligation of appropriateness when recommending wealth management products to financial consumers when hearing such cases.
According to Article 72 of the Minutes of the National Court Civil and Commercial Trial Work Conference (hereinafter referred to as the "Minutes"), the obligation of suitability refers to the promotion and sale of high-risk financial products such as trust wealth management products by sales agencies to financial consumers. In the process, there must be obligations to know the customer, understand the product, and sell the appropriate product to the appropriate financial consumer.
In addition, the "Minutes" also stipulates that consignment agencies shall perform the obligation of notification and explanation, and the people's court shall, based on the risks of products and investment activities and the actual situation of financial consumers, combine objective standards that can be understood by rational persons and subjective standards that can be understood by financial consumers To determine whether the seller institution has fulfilled its obligation to inform and explain.
Su Xiaorui, a senior analyst in the financial industry of Analysys, said that according to the principle of "sellers are responsible, buyers are responsible" in the new asset management regulations, banks, as consignment agencies, need to perform their due diligence and understand customers in the process of selling trust products. and sell products on a consignment basis, and sell appropriate products to suitable financial consumers. If there is no “due diligence” and violations occur, the bank as a consignment agency may not only need to compensate financial consumers, but also be severely punished by financial regulators .
In an interview with a reporter from Securities Daily, Shuai Guorang, a researcher at Yongyi Trust, said that it involves false propaganda and misleading statements. Article 74 of the "Minutes of the Nine Peoples" "responsible subjects" is clear, and the issuers and sellers of financial products have not fulfilled their due obligations. , which causes financial consumers to suffer losses in the process of purchasing financial products, financial consumers can either request the issuer of the financial product to bear the compensation liability, or request the seller of the financial product to bear the compensation liability.
The bank's internal risk control was questioned
According to the reporter's understanding, when Bank of East Asia sold other series of trust products of the above-mentioned trust company on an agency basis, the payment was overdue, and there were many investors who suffered losses. Some investors have complained to Bank of East Asia and related institutions to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
In this regard, some investors questioned Bank of East Asia's risk control audit ability: first, why can it still approve the entry of its products when other products of the trust company have already had problems?
Secondly, why have the Bank of East Asia and the trust company not announced the demands of most investors to disclose the underlying asset allocation, capital flow and losses of the trust?
"Many investors are currently more concerned about the investment direction of the underlying assets of the product to prove whether the product cannot be redeemed on time due to market factors or there is a problem with the product investment itself." The relevant person in charge of the Bank of East Asia told the "Securities Daily" reporter that after the product was overdue for redemption , the bank has sent a letter requesting the trust company to disclose the underlying assets, but so far no relevant disclosure information has been obtained.
When talking about product risk control, the above-mentioned relevant person in charge stated that the head office is responsible for risk control access and product introduction, and the specific situation is not clear as a branch.
Su Xiaorui said that banks generally start from two aspects when screening trust products sold on an agency basis: First, the basic information of the trust company, including its shareholders, assets, operations, ratings, etc.; Repayment sources, credit enhancement measures, etc.
In addition, in the process of agency sales, attention should also be paid to the suitability of financial consumers who purchase trust products.
"As a sales agency, banks need to shoulder the responsibility of 'bridge' communication, smooth communication between trustees and financial consumers, and timely and effectively convey various information about trust products." Su Xiaorui said.
Behind the consignment trust default
Due to the large number of outlets and the large number of customers, banks have always been one of the important channels for trust agency sales.
However, in recent years, with the frequent occurrence of trust product redemption crises, the resulting disputes are also increasing.
Su Xiaorui told the "Securities Daily" reporter that there are two main reasons for the disputes over the bank's agency sales of trust products: the external reason is that trust products are more risky than other ordinary wealth management products, once they encounter external shocks and there are not enough credit enhancement measures. , it will be overdue; the internal reason is that the bank’s own risk control ability is insufficient, or there are irregularities such as unclear disclosure or even inducement in the sales process.
"The problems existing in commercial banks' agency sales of third-party products mainly include profit-driven, lack of investor education, and weak direct sales capabilities of some trust companies." Shuai Guorang said that for investors, it is necessary to establish risk awareness and strengthen the study of relevant professional knowledge. You can't unilaterally believe in the marketing words of financial managers, you must have your own judgment.
In addition, before purchasing a trust product, you must read the contract carefully, be familiar with the product risks, and fully understand the trust products, counterparties, and risk control measures.
In Su Xiaorui's view, investors can't just focus on returns, but also the type of underlying assets, whether there is an industry crisis or policy risk in the near future, what are the credit enhancement measures, and what their own risk tolerance is.
(Securities Daily)