A reporter from China Securities Journal recently visited a number of bank outlets in Beijing and learned that although the interest rate of large-denomination certificates of deposit has been lowered several times, it is still sought after by investors.
However, due to the regularization of deposits, the reduction in the cost of the bank's liability side is limited, showing a certain degree of rigidity.
Experts believe that commercial banks should increase the expansion of demand deposits, improve the efficiency of the use of existing funds, and comprehensively implement policies to ease the cost pressure on the liability side.
As soon as the quota is opened, it will be "second light"
Many bank outlets reported that the current annual interest rate of large-denomination certificates of deposit starting at 200,000 yuan and 3-year maturity is generally 3.1% to 3.3%, and the sales are very hot.
"Our bank's large-denomination certificates of deposit are sold every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., with a limited amount and usually sold out within a minute." According to the account manager of a joint-stock bank, the bank currently has a 200,000 initial deposit and a 3-year large-value deposit. The annual interest rate on certificates of deposit is 3.3%.
An account manager of a large state-owned bank also told a reporter from China Securities Journal that large-denomination certificates of deposit are basically "secondary" as soon as the purchase channel is opened.
"Currently, the annual interest rate of our bank's 200,000 yuan deposit, 3-year large-denomination certificate of deposit is 3.1%. If you want to buy it, you need to join the 'white list' first." He said.
"If you want to buy a large-denomination certificate of deposit, it is recommended to start as soon as possible, and the interest rate may drop in the future." The aforementioned customer manager reminded.
When the reporter inquired about the mobile banking apps of ICBC, Agricultural Bank and other banks, they found that the 3-year large-denomination certificates of deposit all showed that they were sold out or had no remaining quota.
There are also mobile banking APPs of individual banks that show that there are no large-denomination certificates of deposit for sale.
Talking about the reasons for the popularity of large-denomination certificates of deposit, Wang Yunjin, a senior researcher at Zhixin Investment Research Institute, analyzed that, on the one hand, among deposit products, the yields of large-denomination certificates of deposit are attractive and are often higher than fixed deposits of the same term. .
On the other hand, the returns of other financial products such as stocks and funds fluctuate greatly this year, and investors are more risk-averse, while large-denomination certificates of deposit have lower risks, relatively stable returns, and can be transferred, with a certain degree of liquidity.
The trend of regular deposits is obvious
Investors favor large-denomination certificates of deposit with guaranteed principal and interest, and can lock in long-term returns, which is a major manifestation of the deepening trend of deposit regularization.
Since mid-September, major state-owned banks have voluntarily lowered deposit rates, leading some other banks to follow suit.
Experts believe that this will help reduce the cost of bank liabilities, stabilize interest margins, and better benefit the real economy. However, the deepening of the regularization trend of deposits has created a certain hedge against the decline in debt costs.
"The adjustment of deposit interest rate cannot completely affect the comprehensive cost of deposits, and structural changes in new deposits must also be considered." Wei Lulu, a researcher at CICC, said that according to estimates, among the new deposits of residents and enterprises in the third quarter, demand deposits grew negatively.
Wei Lulu said that if the growth of deposits mainly comes from time deposits, it is difficult for the average cost of deposits to drop as the interest rate of time deposits declines.
"Currently, the annual interest rate of demand deposits is around 0.3%, while the annual interest rate of 3-month time deposits is at least 1.5%, which means that the regularization of deposits will significantly increase the cost of deposits, and the rate of time deposit interest rate reduction is only about 10 basis points each time. ." Wei Lulu said.
According to the third quarterly report released by Bank of Communications recently, as of the end of the third quarter, the bank’s demand deposits accounted for 34.93%, down 6.44 percentage points from the end of the previous year; time deposits accounted for 63.68%, up 6.29 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
According to industry insiders, the trend of deposit regularization has strengthened the rigidity of banks' liability costs, and the superimposed asset-side yields have fallen, which in turn has put pressure on banks' net interest margins.
Data from the third quarterly reports of listed banks showed that the net interest margins of many banks declined compared with the same period last year.
According to the third quarterly report of the Bank of Communications, the net interest margin from January to September decreased year-on-year, mainly because the loan yield decreased more than the same period of last year.
China Construction Bank also disclosed in its third quarterly report that the bank's net interest margin in the first three quarters fell by 0.07 percentage points year-on-year, mainly because loan yields continued to decline due to interest rate cuts and other factors, while deposit costs increased.
Some experts also said that the phenomenon of deposit regularization should be viewed comprehensively.
Wang Yunjin said that the rapid growth of bank time deposits can enhance the bank's ability to allocate funds, and also help reduce the pressure of bank asset-liability maturity mismatch.
According to Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher at the Financial Market Department of China Everbright Bank, the regularization of deposits is related to the macroeconomic and market volatility environment. rise again.
Multiple measures to control the cost of debt
With the increase in the regularization of deposits and the pressure on the bank's net interest margin, some experts believe that commercial banks should further strengthen the control of debt costs.
"The decline in the cost of deposits is significantly lower than the loan yield, and the pressure on net interest margins continues to increase. In addition, mortgage loans are facing re-pricing at the beginning of next year. It is imperative to further strengthen the control of debt costs." Wang Yifeng, chief financial analyst at Everbright Securities, said .
The reporter learned through research that some banks no longer sell large-denomination certificates of deposit products with a maturity of more than 1 year.
"Our bank's large-denomination certificates of deposit are currently only available for 3-month and 6-month products, and time deposits are recommended for products with a maturity of more than 1 year." The account manager of a large state-owned bank said that the bank's sales start at 200,000 yuan, and the term is The annual interest rate of 3-month and 6-month certificates of deposit is 1.59% and 1.78% respectively; the annual interest rate of 3-year time deposit is 2.95%.
"With the loan-side yield falling significantly faster than the deposit-side yield, it is expected that commercial banks will continue to adjust their deposit strategies this year," said Wang Yifeng.
As far as the cost management of bank liabilities is concerned, Wang Yunjin suggested that, on the one hand, the competitiveness of attracting savings should be enhanced by improving the level of comprehensive financial services, developing diversified financial products, and accelerating digital transformation; Appropriately increase the interest rate of current deposits and reduce the interest rate of time deposits.
In addition, it can also speed up credit issuance, improve the efficiency of the use of existing funds, increase interest margin income, and reduce the cost pressure on the debt side.