Recently, a news about the new deposits of Chinese residents of 58 trillion yuan in four years has sparked heated discussions on the Internet. Some people question whether the Chinese suffer from "deposit dependence", while others believe that this is just another demonstration of the traditional virtues of Chinese diligence and thrift.
It is undeniable that deposits stem in large part from residents' trust in financial institutions, but that trust is being tested with the exposure of some high-risk banks.
Among them, large banks and foreign banks performed well, but small and medium-sized banks such as urban commercial banks, rural credit cooperatives and village and township banks were more risky. This undoubtedly brings hidden dangers to the safety of depositors' funds, and how to effectively identify and avoid high-risk institutions and safeguard their own rights and interests has become a top priority in front of everyone.
I remember last year, there was a credit union storm in one of my counties. The credit union has long been seen as a local "life-saving money" place, with most farmers and self-employed people keeping their money here.
However, due to the chaotic internal operation and management and repeated illegal operations, the capital chain was eventually broken, and the depositors were unable to repay the principal and interest. After the incident, hundreds of depositors collectively defended their rights, and the scene was out of control for a while.
In the end, under the coordination of the local government, some depositors received corresponding compensation, but the loss was also irreversible. This is just a microcosm of the impact that high-risk institutions are having on depositors.
From a national perspective, the number and distribution of high-risk banks are quite extensive, and the potential risks cannot be ignored.
So, how to identify high-risk banks? First, we need to pay attention to the compliance status of the institution.
Second, it is necessary to examine the business performance of the institution. If an institution's non-performing assets ratio is too high, the loss period is too long, the capital adequacy ratio is too low, and the liquidity is difficult, it means that its financial situation is worrying and it has fallen into or is about to fall into difficulties. Deposits in such institutions are obviously very risky.
In addition, depositors also need to pay attention to the willingness of institutions to rectify the regulators. For various reasons, some high-risk banks refuse to cooperate with the inspection and verification of the regulatory authorities, and do nothing to watch the rectification measures requested, which undoubtedly exacerbates the opacity of the institutions and makes it more difficult for depositors to take precautions.
In addition, depositors can also check the credibility and development prospects of an institution by consulting relevant third-party rating reports and news opinions. Long-term poor management, frequent violations of laws and regulations, and extremely poor market reputation are all signals of its high degree of risk.
Of course, identifying high-risk banks is only the first step in hedging risk.
After all, risk-free is unrealistic, and reducing risk is our goal. In this regard, I suggest that the majority of savers can adopt a strategy of appropriate risk diversification.
That is, instead of putting all the "eggs" in one basket, spread them across several different types of banking institutions, thus reducing a single risk. In addition, we should also keep a close eye on the bank's operations and take timely action to transfer or withdraw deposits if we find any anomalies.
In general, maintaining the safety of deposits is a shared responsibility of depositors and banking institutions. As depositors, we should maintain sufficient risk awareness, learn relevant financial knowledge, and keep an eye on the risk status of the institutions we deposit.