The chaos of "grabbing" large-amount certificates of deposit: scalpers help to buy them, and they should get rebates from inside and outside

China Business News

2024-08-03 07:32Published on the official account of China Business News in Beijing

The full text is 2822 words, and it takes about 9 minutes to read

Highlight the point

01 As the deposit interest rate continues to fall, the "out-of-stock" of large-amount certificates of deposit has become the norm, and some scalpers have started the business of "grabbing" large-amount certificates of deposit.

02 Buying large certificates of deposit on behalf of the bank may violate the bank's sales regulations and financial regulatory policies, and both the investor and the robber may face penalties.

03In addition, investors hand over funds to robbers, and there is a risk that the funds will be misappropriated or defrauded, which increases the risk of personal information leakage.

04Because of this, investors should enhance their awareness of personal information protection and avoid providing sensitive information to unknown intermediaries.

05 At the same time, banks should also strengthen supervision and crackdown to maintain market order and investors' rights and interests.

The above content is generated by Tencent's hybrid model and is for reference only

Reporter Hao Yajuan and Qin Yufang report from Shanghai and Guangzhou

"It's hard to grab a single order" and "It's all about hand speed...... At present, the deposit interest rate continues to decline, and the "out-of-stock" of large-amount certificates of deposit has become the norm.

The reporter of "China Business Daily" noticed that there were many posts on a platform about grabbing and buying large certificates of deposit. The content of the post shows: "The probability of grabbing a bank's 3.65% large-amount certificate of deposit is 100%. ”

A banking insider told reporters: "Because of quota control, large-value certificates of deposit have become a scarce resource. Banks generally treat it as a hook product, and they will only give the quota of some large-value certificates of deposit when they 'distribute goods'. Ordinary people can't buy it, so there will be scalpers to help buy it, and they should cooperate with each other to get kickbacks. ”

Ai Yawen, an analyst at the Rong 360 Digital Technology Research Institute, pointed out that grabbing large-amount certificates of deposit on behalf of the bank may violate the bank's sales regulations and financial regulatory policies, and if the insiders operate in violation of regulations, they may violate laws and regulations, and both investors and robbers may face penalties. In addition, investors hand over funds to robbers, there is a risk of misappropriation or fraud of funds, and in the process of robbery, investors need to provide personal bank account information, which increases the risk of personal information leakage, which may lead to theft of funds or fraudulent use of identity.

"One vote is hard to find" large certificates of deposit

"Originally, the (large-value certificates of deposit) I bought were 4.2% and 4% (interest rates), which is a lot of money. Now 3% (interest rate) has to be grabbed. Mr. Wang, an investor, sighed.

Ms. Zhao, an investor, said: "If you set an alarm clock, you can't grab a large amount of certificates of deposit, and everything you can buy now is transferred, and the remaining term is less than three years." ”

In late July, a new round of deposit interest rate cuts by large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks landed one after another, and the deposit interest rate entered the "1" era. The reporter noted that at present, most banks have stopped selling large-amount certificates of deposit, and the three-year interest rate of large-value certificates of deposit issued by some small and medium-sized banks exceeds 3%, which has become a "sweet spot" in the eyes of investors.

Ai Yawen told reporters: "At present, the market for large-value certificates of deposit is showing a tight trend of supply and demand, especially for products with a term of more than three years, which are difficult to find on the shelves of many banks, and some banks also have restrictions on the minimum deposit amount and purchase qualifications of large-amount certificates of deposit. ”

A person in the retail business of a joint-stock bank also revealed to reporters that at present, the bank has stopped selling large-amount certificates of deposit for individual customers, and the interest rate on three-year large-amount certificates of deposit has dropped to about 2.3 percent before the suspension of sales. "But the quota control is also very strict, which is a scarce resource. We generally use this kind of large-value certificate of deposit product as a hook product to match the product portfolio of enterprises. ”

"Where there's a deal, there's a scalper." Grabbing large-amount certificates of deposit has become a new way to play, some people sell strategies, and some people directly help to earn service fees on behalf of others.

According to the above-mentioned retail business source of the joint-stock bank, at present, large-value certificates of deposit are a scarce resource for all banks, and ordinary customers cannot buy them, so scalpers may appear to help match.

On a certain platform, a user posted: "A bank's 3.65% large-amount certificate of deposit rush purchase method, 100% grabbed, never missed, the price is only 8.8 yuan." After the reporter contacted, the other party said that it was necessary to add WeChat separately and send a rush purchase tutorial after the transfer.

According to media reports, some scalpers said that they could "grab" large-amount certificates of deposit and charge customer service fees from them, with prices ranging from 150 yuan ~ 500 yuan, with the price of about 200 yuan being the majority. However, customers are required to provide information such as accounts and passwords, and scalpers operate directly in the customer's account and use tools to grab orders.

In the view of Guo Fengli, an expert at the Kant Think Tank and a lawyer at Beijing Lianggao (Shanghai) Law Firm, the existence of the phenomenon of grabbing large-amount certificates of deposit reflects the asymmetry of market information and the proliferation of speculation to a certain extent. Scalpers use technical means and rapid response capabilities to seize market opportunities and profit from them.

Shao Ke, head of the banking and comprehensive management team of the Bank of China Research Institute, said that the grabbing of large-value certificates of deposit on behalf of the Bank of China is a manifestation of the mismatch between supply and demand. Bank deposit rates continue to fall, and the asymmetric downward adjustment pattern has led to the flattening of the interest rate curve, and medium- and long-term certificates of deposit with higher interest rates have become more scarce, making it more difficult to purchase, and some investors are trying to buy these products through other channels.

It is worth noting that the risk of purchasing large-value certificate of deposit products through scalpers should also be vigilant. Shao Ke pointed out that in the process of grabbing, investors need to provide sensitive information such as personal identity and bank account numbers to the purchaser, which may be misused and bring hidden risks to investors.

Guo Fengli stressed that investors should enhance their awareness of personal information protection and avoid providing sensitive information to unidentified intermediaries. At the same time, banks should also strengthen customer information security protection to prevent information leakage.

Shao Ke also said that the lack of a monitoring mechanism for funds in the purchasing process may lead to the risk of misappropriation of investors' funds or certificates of deposit, and the risk of capital security during this period must be vigilant.

In Guo Fengli's view, although the phenomenon of grabbing large-amount certificates of deposit on behalf of others meets the needs of some investors to a certain extent, the risks behind it cannot be ignored. Investors should maintain a rational investment attitude, enhance their awareness of risk prevention, and choose formal channels for trading. At the same time, banks should also strengthen supervision and crackdowns to maintain market order and investors' rights and interests.

As of press time, the content of a number of previous posts on behalf of the "purchase of large-value certificates of deposit" has been changed to "selling large-amount certificates of deposit and rushing to buy methods".

Alternatives are preferred

The shortage of large certificates of deposit reflects the fact that in an environment of continuous interest rate reductions, it is difficult for investors to meet their investment needs for both safety, stability and high yield.

According to the research report of Huabao Securities, as of July 29, the six major state-owned banks and 12 joint-stock banks have completed the reduction of deposit interest rates, with a fixed deposit interest rate of less than one year reduced by 10BP, and a fixed deposit interest rate of more than one year reduced by 20BP.

After the new round of interest rate cuts, the yield of wealth management products has further declined. According to the data monitoring of Puyi Standard, among the newly issued wealth management products in the week of July 22 ~ July 28, 2024, the average performance benchmark of open-end products is 2.59%, and the average performance benchmark of closed-end products is 2.90%.

The above-mentioned retail business people of the joint-stock bank emphasized that at present, residents' risk appetite is still low, and they prefer products with low volatility and stability, short holding period and high relative returns. "Compared with the fluctuation of the net value of wealth management products, large-amount certificate of deposit products with a yield of more than 3% are naturally the first choice favored by investors. However, in the environment of low interest rates and low interest margins, banks are trying to reduce the cost of debt as much as possible, and many banks choose to stop selling large certificates of deposit or reduce the interest rate of large certificates of deposit. ”

Huabao Securities further analyzed and pointed out in the research report that as far as banks are concerned, by suspending the sale of long-term large-amount certificates of deposit, they can reduce high debt costs, optimize the debt structure, and stabilize the level of interest margins. Looking at the industry as a whole, as of the end of 2023, banks' net interest margins slipped to 1.69%, falling below the 1.7% mark. Reducing the cost of medium- and long-term time deposits or certificates of deposit is conducive to alleviating the pressure on net interest margins and improving the operating level of banks.

However, the above-mentioned research report also highlights that some small and medium-sized banks in some regions have gone the opposite way and increased large-value certificate of deposit products against the trend to increase customer acquisition. This is due to the differences in the liability structure and market competitive position of different banks, so the pace and method of adjustment will also be different.

From the perspective of market performance, due to the impact of the reduction of deposit interest rates, the volume and price of large-denomination certificates of deposit have fallen, and the interest rates on the issuance of large-denomination certificates of deposit by different types of banks have diverged to a certain extent. Shao Ke pointed out that the interest rate spread of large and medium-sized banks has continued to decline, and it is urgent to control high-cost liabilities, and the motivation for the issuance of large-amount certificates of deposit has declined, especially for medium and long-term products with higher interest rates, and the overall interest rate level has also decreased accordingly with the reduction of the deposit listing rate. Some small and medium-sized banks have interest margins at a relatively high level, the demand for funds is relatively strong, and the enthusiasm for the issuance of large-denomination certificates of deposit is undiminished.

"From the demand side, the current deposit interest rate is generally lowered, the interest rate of large certificates of deposit is relatively high and supports transfer, with high liquidity and security, and is still favored by the majority of investors." Shao Ke pointed out.

At the same time, products that replace large-denomination certificates of deposit are also attracting more and more attention from investors and financial institutions. The analysis of the above-mentioned Huabao Securities research report pointed out that the annualized rate of return of the fixed income wealth management products with good liquidity in the past 1 month is still above 2.5%, while the closed-end 1-year ~ 3-year wealth management products that replace large-amount certificates of deposit have an annualized return of more than 3% in the past 1 year, which is more than 100BP higher than the interest rate of fixed deposits of the same period, which is more attractive to investors.

Overall, the continued downward trend of interest rates is difficult to change, how can investors do a good job in asset allocation in this environment?

"Due to the downturn in economic growth, the decline in return on investment has driven the yield of various asset management products and deposit interest rates to continue to fall. The decline in deposit rates will also further reduce the income of wealth management products invested in high-interest deposit assets. The above-mentioned research report pointed out that in the low-interest rate market environment, investors should try to adjust their investment mentality. First, adjust and lower the expectation of investment returns. Secondly, according to their own risk appetite and the risk-return requirements of each money, comprehensive asset allocation. For prudent investors, in addition to deposit products, instead of the "absence" of medium and long-term large-amount certificates of deposit, low-volatility and stable fixed-income wealth management products with a maturity of six months to three years and structured wealth management products with partial capital preservation strategies can be appropriately allocated.

Many investors believe that "fixed income +" wealth management products are more attractive to investments with a preference for low-volatility and stable investment because of their relatively stable and high-yield characteristics.

Wang Jie, a researcher at Puyi Standard, said that since the beginning of this year, the market environment has been complex and changeable, and pure fixed-income wealth management products have been difficult to meet the income needs of some investors. The "fixed income +" strategy uses fixed income assets as the bottom position, with low-correlation assets such as stocks and bonds for risk diversification, and through diversified asset allocation, thickening product returns under the premise of controlling volatility and drawdown, which is increasingly favored by investors.