【Fintech Weekly】Bank deposit interest rates were lowered again, WeChat raised the regulation of financial live broadcasts, and YTO acquired an online small loan license

[Fintech Weekly is a featured product released by TMTpost of Titanium Media, which will integrate the regulatory policies and industry dynamics of the most important fintech industry this week. 】

Regulatory developments

• 12 departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, will promote the continuous incremental expansion of inclusive small and micro loans

On December 20, the Ministry of Commerce and 12 other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Digital Empowerment of Life Services". The opinions put forward to promote the continuous incremental expansion of inclusive small and micro loans, encourage banking financial institutions to provide credit support for the digital transformation of small, medium and micro enterprises in the life service industry, so that more funds flow to small and medium-sized enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households. Support the listing, listing and issuance of bonds by qualified digital platforms and backbone enterprises.

• The latest payment data of the central bank: the total outstanding credit of credit cards overdue for half a year is 93.742 billion yuan

Recently, the central bank released the payment business statistics for the third quarter of 2023. As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, a total of 9.726 billion bank cards were opened nationwide, an increase of 1.09% from the previous quarter. Among them, 8.947 billion debit cards, an increase of 1.28% month-on-month; There were 779 million credit and debit cards, down 1% from the previous quarter. The average person holds 6.89 bank cards, of which 0.55 are credit and debit cards per capita.

The total credit of bank cards was 22.55 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.09% month-on-month, and the balance of bank card credit receivable was 8.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.90% month-on-month. The average credit line of bank cards is 29,000 yuan, and the credit use is 38.26%. The total outstanding credit of credit cards overdue for half a year was 93.742 billion yuan, an increase of 4.57% month-on-month, accounting for 1.09% of the outstanding credit balance of credit cards.

• Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The "Interbank Account Data Sharing" Pilot Scheme will be launched soon

On 22 December, it was reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the imminent launch of the Interbank Account Data Sharing (IADS) pilot scheme, which aims to enable customers to share their bank account data with other banks securely and efficiently if they wish. The Fintech Facilitation Office of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, together with the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the banking industry, has completed a preliminary study on the IADS. The results of the study show that the sharing of customers' bank account data among banks can help facilitate the digitalization of banking business, enhance bank risk management and enhance customer experience. The study also established codes and standards for the IADS Pilot Scheme, covering retail, corporate and SME customers, to facilitate the sharing of data between banks and their peers according to their wishes. The IADS Pilot Programme will be launched on 1 January 2024 with a total of 28 banks participating. 【21 Finance】

Industry dynamics

• Deposit rates have fallen in a number of banks

On December 22, the dust settled on a new round of bank deposit rate cuts. Early in the morning of December 22, ICBC, CCB, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank and many other banks updated the listed interest rates of RMB deposits on the bank's official website. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) have also simultaneously lowered the deposit interest rates for large-amount certificates of deposit and special deposits, with a maximum reduction of 30 basis points. At present, state-owned banks are mainly responsible for the reduction of deposit interest rates, but joint-stock banks have generally not adjusted the listed interest rates or deposit product interest rates for the time being. 【Beijing News】

• The premiums of the five major listed insurers increased by 5.3% year-on-year in the first 11 months

As of the end of November, the total premium income of Ping An, Chinese Life, Chinese People's Insurance, China Taibao and Xinhua Insurance was 2,524.676 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.33%. In terms of life insurance, in the first 11 months of this year, Chinese Life achieved premium income of 614.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%; Ping An Life achieved premium income of 433.949 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%; CPIC Life Insurance achieved premium income of 223.977 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%; Xinhua Insurance achieved premium income of 159.738 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.91%; PICC Life Insurance achieved premium income of 97.267 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.69%. Unlike the decline in single-month premiums in October, the growth rate of single-month premiums in November was "two rises and three declines", which picked up slightly. Among them, the monthly premium of PICC Life Insurance increased by 2.8% year-on-year, and Ping An Life Insurance increased by 2.5% year-on-year.

• This year, 10 village and township banks across the country have been dissolved

On December 11, the official website of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration issued an announcement that Jinzhou Hengsheng Village Bank and Gaocheng Hengsheng Village Bank were approved for dissolution. As of December 20, 10 village and township banks across the country have been approved for dissolution this year. Judging from the results of the approval, the vast majority of the banking business has been inherited by the major banks in accordance with the law, and some banks have withdrawn from the market and have cleared all the deposit and loan business. Mr. Zhao, a senior investment consultant in the securities industry, told reporters: "In April this year, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the "Notice on the Banking and Insurance Industry to Do a Good Job in Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization in 2023", which clearly stated that it is necessary to promote the structural restructuring of village and township banks. Under the promotion of policies, the structural restructuring of small and medium-sized village and township banks has been accelerated, which is conducive to resolving the risks of financial institutions and strengthening the rural financial system. [Upstream News]

• Consumer loan interest rates fell by nearly 80BP

On December 20, in the field of bank credit, this year's "volume king" is none other than consumer loans. According to the data of Rong 360 Digital Technology Research Institute, in the past year (November 2022 ~ November 2023), the average executable interest rate of consumer loans has gradually decreased from 4.2% to 3.41%, a decrease of nearly 80BP, while in the same period, the 1-year LPR (loan prime rate) has only decreased by 20BP, from 3.65% to 3.45%. At the end of the year, banks began to face the "good start", and the interest rate range of consumer loans of some banks has come to the "2 prefix", and even the "1 prefix" consumer loan products flashed during the Double 11 period. 【Rong 360 Digital Technology Research Institute】

• A number of banks have shut down special deposit products

Recently, a number of banks have successively announced that they will completely shut down special deposit products. It is understood that special deposit is an innovative deposit product launched by commercial banks according to their own business needs and customer needs. Compared with ordinary time deposits, special deposits have specific minimum deposit amounts, interest rates, tenors, interest calculation rules and additional conditions. Industry insiders said that the reduction of the interest rate on special deposits is one of the measures taken by banking institutions to adjust the cost of liabilities. At present, in the context of supporting the real economy and reducing loan interest rates, the net interest margin of banks has narrowed seriously, and the supervision has been continuously optimized, and the role of the market-oriented adjustment mechanism of deposit interest rates has been brought into play to reduce the pressure on the liability side of banking institutions. 【Securities Daily】

Enterprise dynamics

• Sichuan Deyang Rural Commercial Bank was approved to merge 4 banks

On December 22, the reply disclosed by the Sichuan Supervision Bureau of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration showed that it agreed that Deyang Rural Commercial Bank would absorb and merge Sichuan Guanghan Rural Commercial Bank (hereinafter referred to as "Guanghan Rural Commercial Bank"), Sichuan Shifang Rural Commercial Bank (hereinafter referred to as "Shifang Rural Commercial Bank"), Sichuan Mianzhu Rural Commercial Bank (hereinafter referred to as "Mianzhu Rural Commercial Bank") and Sichuan Zhongjiang Rural Commercial Bank (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongjiang Rural Commercial Bank"), and inherit the creditor's rights and debts of the above four banks.

• The former president of the Yangtze River Village Bank in Yingshan, Hubei Province was killed, and the police: it was poisoned, and the personal debt problem is under investigation

In response to the rumors that Wang Mouyong, president of the Yangtze River Village Bank in Yingshan County, Hubei Province, committed suicide, the official made a notification. On December 20, the Propaganda Department of the Yingshan County Party Committee reported that at 19:30 on December 5, 2023, the Hot Spring Police Station of the Yingshan County Public Security Bureau received a report from the masses that a man died in the car near Meiyan Village, Hot Spring Town. After investigation, the deceased Wang Mouyong (male, 54 years old, former president of the Yangtze River Village Bank in Yingshan, Hubei) died of carbon monoxide poisoning, and a criminal case was ruled out.

• The capital of the black card small loan was increased to about 524 million yuan

On December 18, the registered capital of Chongqing Heika Microfinance Co., Ltd. increased from 50 million US dollars to 523.75 million yuan. According to public information, Black Card Small Loan was established in December 2015, and after this capital increase, the shareholding of Miduo Internet Finance Co., Ltd. decreased from 70% to 6.18%, and the shareholding of Beijing Microfinance Technology Co., Ltd. increased from 30% to 93.82%. 【Consumer Finance】

• JD Pay executive changes

Recently, the positions of legal representative, executive director and manager of Online Banking Online (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. have been replaced, from Huang Ting to Qin Shuo. At the same time, Qiao Mengmeng, the head of finance, withdrew and was replaced by Zhou Yuan. 【Consumer Finance】

• WeChat has improved the regulation of financial live broadcasts

Recently, WeChat updated the "Channels Financial Science Popularization Live Broadcast Access Standards", which will officially take effect on December 18. The updated "Access Standards" strictly restricts the access qualifications of enterprises and individual anchors, requiring that they must be licensed financial institutions and practitioners. At the same time, in terms of live broadcast specifications, the new rules require that anchors must appear in real people, must not output specific investment suggestions, and indicate the anchor's identity and company information in the live broadcast room. 【Securities Times】

• IB's issuance of capital instruments of no more than 130 billion yuan was approved by the regulator

On December 19, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration issued a reply on the issuance of capital instruments by IB. According to the reply, it is agreed that IB will issue capital instruments of no more than 130 billion yuan. IB may, within the approved quota, decide on the specific instrument variety, issuance time, batch and scale, and complete the issuance within 24 months after approval.

• Shen Ya stepped down as chairman of Vipshop and was replaced by Yao Fang

Recently, Shen Ya has stepped down as chairman of Vipshop, and the position was taken over by Yao Fang from Vipshop. In November this year, the regulator approved Yao Fang's qualifications as chairman of Vipshop Fubon Consumer Finance, and Yao Fang has now arrived, and the relevant industrial and commercial changes have also been completed. In addition to Vipshop, Shen Ya, chairman of Vipshop, also withdrew from a number of mutual finance business entities such as Vipshop Small Loan. In fact, since 2019, Vipshop has been reducing its Internet finance business, and the main role of the Internet finance business is to support the online retail business. Compared with the shrinking mutual finance business, licensed consumer finance has become the key expansion direction of Vipshop's financial layout. 【Laser Finance】

• YTO wholly acquired an online small loan license

Recently, the Guangzhou Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration issued the "Reply on the Change of Shareholders' Equity of Guangzhou 2345 Internet Microfinance Co., Ltd.", agreeing that Shanghai Hongsheng Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. will transfer 57.5% of the equity of 2345 Microfinance and 42.5% of the equity of 2345 Microfinance held by Shanghai 2345 Network Technology Co., Ltd. to Shanghai Yuantong Jiaolong Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd. After the completion of the transfer, Shanghai YTO Jiaolong Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd. will hold 100% of the equity of 2345 Micro Loan. 【Consumer Finance】

• Shangrao Bank was fined 5 million for 9 violations

Recently, the Jiangxi Supervision Bureau of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration issued 7 administrative penalty decisions at one time, all of which are related to Shangrao Bank Co., Ltd. According to the administrative penalty decision, Shangrao Bank was fined 5 million yuan for failing to approve major related party transactions in accordance with regulations, bank credit funds were used for equity investment, bank credit funds were used to issue entrusted loans, wealth management funds undertook the bank's credit assets, and nine violations of laws and regulations, including illegal issuance of loans and illegal extension of risk exposure, and other relevant responsible persons were also punished to varying degrees. 【Investor.com】