"It is difficult to grab large certificates of deposit; It is even more difficult to grab large certificates of deposit with high interest rates. ”
Hunan depositor Miss Zhang once again sighed after seeing the large deposit certificate to be grabbed in her mobile phone turn gray.
In the past two months, under the wind of intensive lowering of deposit interest rates, Ms. Zhang has been looking everywhere for large-sum deposit certificate products with high interest rates. In May, she flipped to the news on Xiaohongshu that someone had transferred WeBank's 3.8% interest rate product, downloaded the app on her back foot, transferred money to the card, and was gone when she was just about to place an order.
She then lowered her interest rate requirement to 3.35%, but squatted on and off for more than a month without finding anything.
Mr. Wang, a Beijing depositor, does not have such "luxury". "I don't ask how high the interest rate is, I just want to be able to buy it." According to his description, the other day, he asked several bank branches in front of his house against the big sun, "none of them have large deposit certificates." ”
The investigation by the "City Boundary" found that the large deposit certificates that had been "stopped" for a while had been robbed again in recent days. Whether it is a large state-owned bank or a small local bank, what depositors can buy offline is earned. In online apps, banks either have no certificates of deposit for sale or sell out, or some are told that they can't buy them or need to queue up when they click on a product.
This has left investors anxious to lock in high interest rates.
Large certificates of deposit, and buy and cherish them
On June 27 and 28, the "City Boundary" investigated the large deposit certificates of more than a dozen banks and found that the large deposit certificates of more than 3% among the large state-owned banks have become a thing of the past.
Some of ICBC's 3-year 2.9% large-sum certificates of deposit products are directly sold out, while others set a purchase threshold and are only available to "new customers within 6 months from the date of becoming our customers".
Although Bank of China has 3-year 2.9% and 5-year 2.95% large-sum certificates of deposit, customer service claims that it only sells to "specific customers" in certain branches in certain cities; The maximum interest rate of the existing large-sum certificates of deposit of the Agricultural Bank of China is 2.90% for a three-year term; PSBC's maximum interest rate is 2.05% for 1 year.
In addition, neither the China Construction Bank nor the Bank of Communications App has large-value certificates of deposit for sale.
Among some mainstream stock banks, China CITIC Bank does not sell large-sum certificates of deposit; Bohai Bank's 3.3% interest rate products with 3-year and 5-year terms have no remaining quota, followed by 2.7% interest rate for 2-year terms; The maximum interest rate of China Merchants Bank is 2.90% for 3 years; The maximum interest rate of Minsheng Bank and Ping An Bank is 2.6% for 2 years.
Ping An Bank's 3-year 3.1% product is sold out, and the 2-year interest rate of 2.6% is still sufficient, but the end of the product page writes, "Due to the popularity of large-sum deposit certificate subscriptions last month, your subscription application needs to be queued for processing, and it may be sold out during the queuing subscription process." ”
Several large deposit certificates of 3.15% with a 3-year term of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank clearly indicate the purchase conditions, with a minimum deposit of 200,000 yuan for new customers, a minimum deposit of 500,000 yuan only for Kunming branch, and a minimum deposit of 2 million yuan only for Nanjing branch.
Everbright Bank's 3-year 300,000-year 300,000-dollar deposit rate 3.15% products and 1 million deposit rate 3.18% products have also been "sold out", with 1-year and 2-year interest rates of 2.68% and 2.18% respectively.
Among the two city commercial banks visited by Bank of Beijing and Bank of Jiangsu offline, the staff of bank branches said that there were no large-sum deposit certificate products, "it is not a problem of grabbing or not robbing, but there is no quota at all." The staff of the bank branch said.
In order to prevent the loss of customers, they will also deliberately avoid the consultation of large deposit certificates and directly recommend medium and long-term time deposit products, such as the account manager of Jiangsu Bank, said, "If you have enough funds on hand, you can consider our 3-year fixed deposit, the interest rate of 300,000 can reach 3.4%, which is no different from large deposit certificates, but it cannot be transferred." ”
In fact, the phenomenon of selling out large certificates of deposit began in May. A staff member of a branch of the Bank of Hangzhou revealed to the media that the bank's approved 50 million yuan of large deposit certificate quota was rushed out in 3 minutes, "the intensity is comparable to the rush of train tickets." ”
"Let's put it this way, all large deposit certificates with large banks starting at 200,000 yuan and interest rates exceeding 3% are worth buying, and they are worth buying and cherishing." A wealth manager wrote in Moments.
He also posted a screenshot of his conversation with the customer, which showed that the 4.18% large deposit certificate bought by the customer three years ago expired and asked to continue the product with the same interest rate, and the financial manager reluctantly replied, "The macro policy adjusts the interest rate, there is no longer that level of interest rate, now I can only save you a 3.4% period." ”
Large deposit certificates generally have a transfer function, and the aforementioned Ms. Zhang has also gone to the bank transfer area to "pick up leaks", but this also requires speed and does not allow the slightest hesitation. In the China Merchants Bank App, the "city boundary" saw that someone transferred 3.15% of the products on the 27th, but disappeared on June 28, and the interest rate of the remaining transferred certificates of deposit was only 3%.
▲ (China Merchants Bank and WeBank large-sum deposit certificate transfer zone are also popular.) Source/Bank App)
On June 13, a depositor "caught" WeBank's customers sold six large-sum certificates of deposit at once, with interest rates ranging from 3.3% to 3.35%, and were snapped up in less than 5 minutes.
Users rush like crazy, banks are tight
Financial analyst Yoyo believes that "the shortage of large-sum certificates of deposit fully demonstrates the majority of investors' yearning for high interest rates, and it is also a reflection of the low risk appetite in the current market environment." ”
Yoyo said, "Everyone has seen the interest rate drop little by little, and now the five-year fixed deposit rate of state-owned banks has dropped to 2.5%, and individual stock banks can reach 2.8%. Even savings bonds, which have always been considered the most indestructible, have not been spared, and interest rates have been cut three times in 2022, while the government bonds issued on June 10 this year were only 2.95%, falling below the 3% mark. ”
Compared with ordinary time deposits, large certificates of deposit have the advantage of flexibility in addition to high interest rates, which can be partially withdrawn in advance before maturity, and the remaining unwithdrawn funds are still accrued with interest at the existing interest rate. If there is a real need for funds and do not want to lose interest, the user can also choose to transfer it.
In general, large-sum certificates of deposit combine the functions of high interest, liquidity and locked interest rates, which is a good bottom asset allocation product.
Yang Haiping, researcher of the Securities and Futures Research Institute of the Central University of Finance and Economics and general manager of the research and development department of the Bank of Inner Mongolia, said that after the reduction of deposit interest rates, the advantages of large-sum certificates of deposit have become more prominent, resulting in a situation in which large-amount certificates of deposit are in short supply and are highly sought after.
According to data released by the central bank, in the first quarter of this year, the total amount of large-amount certificates of deposit issued by financial institutions was 5.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.1 trillion yuan year-on-year, which was the highest quarterly issuance since the launch of large-amount certificates of deposit in 2015. Compared with the same period of previous years, since 2017, the total amount of large-sum certificates of deposit issued in the first quarter has been between 1.57 trillion ~ 4.5 trillion yuan.
In addition to residents, many listed companies are also buying large certificates of deposit. Dongpeng Beverage announced on June 15 that in order to improve the efficiency of capital use and increase the company's income, the company and its subsidiaries intend to use part of the idle own funds of 850 million yuan to purchase wealth management products, of which 400 million yuan will be used to invest in principal-protected and income-guaranteed large-sum certificates of deposit.
A week later, CATL announced that it intends to use no more than RMB 7.8 billion of idle raised funds for cash management, and the product to be invested in is a large-sum certificate of deposit with a holding period of no more than 12 months.
Obviously, the demand for large certificates of deposit is growing strongly for both individuals and enterprises, but why are banks not open up to the supply of large certificates of deposit?
The first is the problem of quota, and the bank relationship manager gave the reason for "no quota", which has its background.
According to the Interim Measures for the Administration of Large-Amount Certificates of Deposit, commercial banks issuing large-amount certificates of deposit shall file their annual issuance plans with the People's Bank of China. If it is necessary to adjust the annual issuance plan, it shall be re-filed with the People's Bank of China.
Yang Haiping told the "city" that whether a commercial bank issues a large-sum deposit certificate, an active liability product, as well as the scale of issuance and the term of the deposit certificate, are affected by factors such as the growth of various deposits in the bank, the term structure, and the demand for credit funds. "At this stage, the deposits of commercial banks are growing relatively fast, and the effective demand for credit is relatively insufficient. Asset liability management has limited reliance on large certificates of deposit. ”
In layman's terms, the more bank deposits, the desire for large certificates of deposit is not so strong. A relationship manager of a commercial bank in Beijing admitted to "City Boundary" that his bank had completed its deposit target for the first quarter in February.
Yoyo further elaborated that from the perspective of large and medium-sized banks, the increase in large deposit certificates means an increase in bank costs, after all, loan interest rates continue to fall, banks also "high savings", is bound to lower interest rate spreads, which is obviously not good for banks.
The data shows that banks are already controlling the issuance of large certificates of deposit. Around the Spring Festival in February this year, the number of large-sum certificates of deposit issued was 694; In May, the number of large-sum certificates of deposit issued was 490, down more than 200 from February and more than 100 from April, down 15.22% from the previous month.
And some banks have lowered interest rates on certificates of deposit since June, and have also restricted the freedom to transfer certificates of deposit. For example, 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month large-sum deposit certificates of the Agricultural Bank of China are currently non-transferable.
PSBC's 6-month interest rate is 1.8% for large deposit certificates, indicating that they are "Advanced Exclusive". The bank's customer service explained that advanced customers refer to customers with personal comprehensive assets (monthly and daily average) of 450,000-500,000 yuan in our bank last month.
Where are the other high-interest rate products?
It is worth mentioning that, contrary to large and medium-sized banks, many private banks, as well as individual Sino-foreign joint venture banks, use large deposit certificates to collect deposits in a high profile, and their interest rates are much higher, up to more than 4%.
Xiamen International Bank has a 3-year interest rate of 3.35% and is currently available for purchase; Xinwang Bank has a 5-year interest rate of 3.85% and can be purchased; 3.35% for 3 years and 3.70% for 5 years can be snapped up with a daily limit; Blue Ocean Bank's 3-year interest rate is 3.45%, indicating that it is sold out, and there are three products with an interest rate of more than 3.45% in the transfer area.
▲ (From left to right, Xiamen International Bank, Xinwang Bank, and Baixin Bank large-sum certificate of deposit products.) Source/Bank App)
Previously, the annualized interest rate of WeBank's 5-year large-sum certificate of deposit product exceeded 4%. Although there is no such product now, in the transfer area, the notification of successful transfer of new certificates of deposit is constantly flashed, and the converted transfer interest rate is mostly between 3.3%~3.7%.
At the same time, some city commercial banks are also using the method of depositing large deposit certificates to give gifts to encourage users to buy. For example, some Shandong users deposited 1 million yuan in Weihai Bank and received 60 kilograms of Arowana peanut oil.
As for why these private banks and city commercial banks accept large deposit certificates much higher than large banks?
In Yang Haiping's view, the interest rate difference between the two is completely normal, "which is a comprehensive reflection of the position of the two parties in the deposit market, market influence and liquidity premium." ”
Yoyo also said that for a long time, the brand power and reputation of private banks are far less than those of large banks, and the channels for absorbing deposits are not as wide as those of large banks, and it can be said that most of the time they are eager to absorb more funds. In the case of large banks not being willing to absorb deposits, it is easy to understand that these banks moderately rely on high interest rates to "promote".
It is not difficult to see from the feedback of some interviewed depositors that they do not have a high level of trust in small private banks, and even if the interest rate is high, they dare not easily place large savings in it. When encountering such depositors, the account manager can only dispel their concerns on the grounds of "less savings, less risk".
Since large-sum certificates of deposit are "difficult to find", what other investment products can become "substitutes" for large-amount certificates of deposit to some extent?
It is understood that personal pension exclusive deposits, bank fund wealth management products, increased life insurance, and annuity life insurance are all among the secondary options recommended by bank clerks to customers.
A financial consultant of a stock bank told "City Boundary" that the countdown to the delisting of whole life products with a predetermined interest rate of 3.5% has entered the delisting, and it is recommended to hurry up.
An account manager of a city commercial bank suggested that large-sum certificates of deposit are more suitable for middle-aged and elderly people or investment whites, young people can still buy funds, and the bond market can also participate moderately.
Hu Xin, a senior banker and the manager of the "borrowing financial skills" public account, believes that from the current point of view, there are few products that can replace large-sum deposit certificates with a three-year term. "Insurance products and pension wealth management products have a long existence, and their liquidity is not as good as that of large certificates of deposit. The almost risk-free monetary fund, which currently has a return of about 2%, cannot match the large certificates of deposit with a three-year interest rate of 3%. ”
In addition, there are also industry insiders who give the view that diversified asset allocation is the correct way to open asset preservation and appreciation.
Ma Yinchen, a researcher at Zhixin Investment Research Institute, pointed out that in the face of the continuous decline in interest rates, more conservative investors can choose to establish a financial management with relatively stable returns as a "ballast stone", and appropriately allocate some equity products, or precious metal products such as gold to obtain reasonable and considerable returns and reduce the volatility risk of asset portfolios.
In short, "investors should not only focus on deposit rates, but should focus more on financial management." Yoyo concluded, "Everyone needs to think about how to divide the money into multiple parts and choose the tools that maximize the benefits." Relying solely on deposits is no longer appropriate in today's era of low interest rates. ”
Author | CHEN Chang
Edit | Sun Yue
Operations | Liu Shan