In recent years, various Internet platforms and wealth management investment products have emerged in an endless stream, and some institutions have invited celebrity endorsements to become the norm in the industry, but various risk problems have also emerged, such as excessive publicity, promise of high returns, misleading publicity, etc.
A few days ago, at the special press conference held by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on "Deepening the Promotion of Financial Consumer Protection in the Banking and Insurance Industry", Guo Wuping, director of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, made it clear that the official will introduce a special system to regulate marketing and publicity behavior such as celebrity endorsement of financial products.
Celebrity endorsements of financial products have exploded one after another, and the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has issued risk tips
In January 2014, Pan Xiaoting, the "Queen of Nine Balls", endorsed the investment and wealth management products of the "Zhongjin Series" through the brokerage company. In an endorsement advertisement released by the media, Pan Xiaoting calmly hit the target ball into the bag with the following voice: "Judgment comes from observation, and more from professionalism." I'm good at risk aversion! I am Pan Xiaoting, I am a partner of Zhongjin! In April 2016, the "Zhongjin System" investment and wealth management products exploded, and tens of thousands of investors were trapped. After the incident, many investors claimed to have invested after watching Pan Xiaoting's endorsement advertisement, and some investors gathered in front of Pan Xiaoting's billiard hall to claim compensation.
On September 1, 2015, Five female celebrities, Tang Yan, Li Xiang, Qu Ying, Zhong Liti and Hu Jing, posted on Weibo that the Muse era has come and marketed for the Muse era to be launched on September 10. On December 16, 2015, e-Rent treasure was suspected of committing a crime and was investigated. In January 2016, the police announced that e-rent treasure illegally raised more than 50 billion yuan.
In 2019, the well-known host Du Haitao's financial product "Net Libao" was overdue, and the police investigated the case. Du Haitao's sister said in the live broadcast that "the victim deserves it", which caused dissatisfaction among netizens.
On May 9, 2020, Xiaoniu Online suddenly announced the "Benign Exit Announcement of Platform Online Lending Business". In the previous 2016, Xiaoniu Online officially signed the "1 billion director" Dapeng Dong Chengpeng as a brand spokesperson.
According to incomplete statistics from the media, since 2015, at least more than 30 celebrities have stood for 18 problem platforms. However, the platform method is not limited to endorsement, but also three other ways to sponsor programs, buy shares, and attend press conferences.
The Rule of Law Network Research Institute noted that in April 2021, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued a "Tip on Vigilance against the Risks of Celebrity Endorsements of Financial Products", requiring celebrities to check whether the endorsing institutions have legal qualifications and whether the products and services endorsed are true and meet regulatory requirements before accepting endorsements.
Endorsement products fail to fulfill their obligations to review, and celebrities may even bear criminal liability
According to the data, the CBRC received a total of 2.49 million consumer calls in 2021, handled 510,000 consumer complaints, guided local dispute mediation institutions to successfully resolve 114,700 disputes, and urged the withdrawal and compensation of financial consumers of 24.5 billion yuan.
Guo Wuping said that if the spokesperson, especially the celebrity spokesperson, does not have the ability to distinguish the qualifications of the endorsement product and does not understand the risk of the product, it may produce the risk of publicity misleading, excessive publicity, including the promise of high returns and other issues. This may lead to excessive consumption, advanced consumption, excessive debt, violent collection, etc., and the CBRC has received relevant complaints in its daily work. Coupled with the bottomless star chasing of individual fans, and even raising funds to play the list for stars, etc., they have been used by criminals to cause chaos in fundraising, and some even cause social and family problems.
It is understood that there are currently five main types of celebrity endorsement financial products: First, endorsement P2P, online loan products, etc. Some celebrity endorsements finally have problems, and publicity is far from reality. The second is to endorse products suspected of illegal fund-raising. Maybe the star itself doesn't know much about this product, and endorses it without necessarily understanding it. The third is to endorse Internet financial products. This includes some licensed and even non-licensed ones. As long as it is a financial product, whether online or offline, its underlying logic is the same. The fourth is to publicize financial products or platforms. The fifth is to endorse a certain type of product or overall brand of banking and insurance institutions.
In an interview with the Research Institute of the Rule of Law Network, Chen Xiaobing, a lawyer at Beijing Kangda Law Firm, said that celebrities endorse Internet financial products, and the relevant laws and regulations of the mainland do not prohibit them, but celebrities, as public figures, have a wide range of social influence, no matter what kind of endorsement method they adopt, the endorsement and platform of celebrities for mutual gold products will have a greater and broader impact on the trust and choice of the general public. Therefore, the star has a prudent review obligation for the selection of endorsement products, and the spokesperson must first understand and self-examine whether the business qualifications of the mutual gold platform, the content of mutual gold products and services, and the content of publicity and promotion comply with legal and regulatory regulations.
Chen Xiaobing analyzed that the explosion of mutual gold products, the platform will often involve illegal absorption of public deposits, fund-raising fraud, fraud, organization and leadership of pyramid schemes and illegal operations and other crimes, and the stars of the platform for their endorsement, if they have not fulfilled their reasonable review obligations for the products and platforms, make false publicity, for the occurrence and expansion of the damage results, there is a fault in the occurrence and expansion of the damage results, they will be held accountable according to law The legal responsibilities they may bear include: civil liability for joint and several compensation for the victim's losses, administrative liability for confiscating illegal gains and imposing fines, Depending on the extent and method of participation of the star, if involved in the crimes listed above, they may even be criminally liable.
Vigilance against misleading celebrity propaganda, seven departments issued a document asking for "banned endorsements"
The CBRC reminds consumers that when choosing financial products or services, they should not blindly believe in celebrity endorsements, and should rationally treat the products or services of "celebrity endorsements" and achieve "three looks and one prevention": one to see whether the institution has obtained the corresponding qualifications; the second is to see whether the product meets its own needs and risk tolerance; the third is to see whether the income is reasonable; and at the same time, to prevent excessive lending.
Lawyer Chen Xiaobing also believes that as an ordinary financial consumer or investor, first of all, do not superstitiously believe in the aura of stars, and carefully investigate whether the mutual gold platform has legal business qualifications and related licenses and the legality of mutual gold products before investing. Secondly, we cannot be tempted by the high rate of return promised by the platform, and we must judge based on common sense and prudence and rationality, from the perspective of many past cases we have handled, the victims are often based on the platform's early cash in several high-interest returns, so as to add huge investments step by step into the set, until the platform runs away with no principal and interest. Again, pie will not fall from heaven, and the right way on earth is vicissitudes.
"Of course, for the complex financial products that are professionally designed and packaged by the mutual fund platform, it is often difficult for ordinary investors to accurately understand and judge the risks, and the effective supervision of financial regulators is particularly important." Chen Xiaobing suggested that relevant departments should strengthen supervision from all aspects such as market access, security deposit system, daily supervision and inspection of platform business activities, and strict legal penalties after the fact, increase the difficulty and cost of violating the law on the platform, so that they cannot violate the law and dare not violate the law, so as to achieve the regulatory goals of market entities operating according to law, orderly flow of capital, and promoting social and economic development.
In January this year, the People's Bank of China, together with seven departments, including the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the Intellectual Property Office, issued the Measures for the Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products (Draft for Solicitation of Comments), requiring "no endorsements". Including financial institutions must not use the name or image of academic institutions, industry associations, or professionals to make recommendations or certificates, and must not use the name or image of entertainers as recommendations or proofs.
Under the wind direction, in 2022, celebrities endorse financial products, or will usher in strong supervision.
Source: Legal Network