On July 18, official website Construction Bank announced that it would suspend the subscription conversion of gold and silver in the precious metal business of the account and the setting and change of the fixed investment plan from 7:00 Beijing time on August 15, 2022; Suspend the short-selling of gold and silver in the two-way trading of precious metals in the account; The fixed investment plan of account gold, account silver and account platinum will be automatically terminated. The original positions and short positions of the customer's corresponding business and the sale of valid entrusted pending orders before suspension are not affected.
Zhou, a macro researcher in the financial market department of China Everbright Bank, told reporters: "Combined with previous cases, the main reason for some banks to tighten their personal precious metal trading business recently is to prevent potential risks and protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors. At present, the precious metal market is facing a complex environment and its fluctuation is increasing. For investors, the predictability of the market is declining and the potential risks are increasing, especially some trading products are leveraged; The regulatory authorities attach great importance to the implementation of investor suitability management by financial institutions; In addition, the tightening of personal precious metal trading business by financial institutions also sends a signal to the market that the current market risks are too high. "
During the year, a number of banks suspended a number of precious metals businesses.
The National Business Daily reporter noted that since the beginning of this year, a number of banks have suspended a number of precious metal trading businesses.
On July 15, China Industrial and Commercial Bank announced that the gold and silver account opening transactions would be suspended from August 15, 2022 at 8: 00 Beijing time, and the customer's set but unfinished account opening orders would automatically become invalid, and the customer's position closing transactions would not be affected.
However, this is not the first time that ICBC has adjusted its related business during the year. On July 4th, ICBC announced that since 9: 65438 Beijing time on August 5th, 2022, the opening transaction of personal precious metal deferred settlement contract and the buying transaction of personal spot gold firm contract of Shanghai Gold Exchange will be suspended, and the closing transaction of personal deferred settlement contract and the selling transaction of personal spot gold firm contract will not be affected.
At the same time, ICBC also raised the trading margin of some precious metals businesses related to gold. Since the closing and liquidation on July 8, the standard trading margin ratio of ICBC's Au(T+D), mAu(T+D), Au(T+N 1), Au(T+N2), NYAuTN06, NYAuTN 12d contracts.
On June 2, China Construction Bank announced that it would suspend the personal precious metal trading business of Shanghai Gold Exchange from June 17, 2022 (Friday, Beijing time) and postpone the newly opened contract varieties, and the clearing transaction would not be affected; Spot contract varieties are suspended from buying transactions, and selling transactions are not affected.
On May 5th, Huaxia Bank announced the adjustment of precious metal trading business for individual customers, including the omni-channel suspension of spot deferred account opening and spot firm purchase of precious metals for individual customers of Shanghai Gold Exchange after the close of May 12, and the increase of contract margin ratio such as Au(T+D).
In addition, the reporter noted that Bank of Communications, China Everbright Bank and Industrial Bank also issued relevant business adjustment announcements.
Analyst: The purpose is to guard against risks and protect the interests of investors.
After March, the price of precious metals fluctuated and fell. Take the spot price of gold in London as an example. On March 8, the price soared to $2,070.42 per ounce, and then continued to fluctuate and fall. As of July 8 18, the spot price of Loco London gold was about 17 19 USD/oz, with a cumulative decrease of more than 10%.
Spot price trend of London gold image source; wind
Talking about the reasons for this business adjustment, Wang Hongying, president of China (Hongkong) Financial Derivatives Investment Research Institute, said in an interview with China Business Daily: "Due to the recent inflation in the United States, the Federal Reserve accelerated the pace of raising interest rates in the US dollar, which led to violent fluctuations in the precious metals market. In order to prevent risks, banks such as ICBC and China Construction Bank have successively introduced policies to stop precious metal trading. The main purpose is to prevent risks and protect the interests of investors. "
Wang Hongying further explained that, in addition to the previous restrictions on opening positions and the increase in margin for precious metals trading in commercial banks, all banks have introduced policies to suspend precious metals trading. In fact, this is also an important measure for commercial banks to further standardize intermediary business in the CBRC, so that commercial banks can focus on supporting credit or other businesses in the real economy in the future, reduce financial derivatives investment business of commercial banks, and prevent systemic risks.
Zhou said that the adjustment of this business, on the one hand, led to restrictions on the opening of new accounts in some related businesses, such as adjusting handling fees, which led to an increase in transaction costs for some customers; On the other hand, some banks have taken temporary tightening measures according to changes in the market situation, which is also a signal to the market that short-term related business risks may be increasing. This will help to cool down some business transactions.
"In the short term, due to the rising transaction costs and limited new accounts for individuals, the number of customers related to precious metal trading business in some banks may decrease, and the corresponding intermediate income of services such as handling fees will also decrease, but such business accounts for a relatively low proportion in the overall income and profit of banks, which has limited impact on the overall operation of banks; At the same time, proper management of investors will help reduce potential investment disputes and better safeguard the market reputation of financial institutions. " Zhou said to him.
Regarding the adjustment trend of precious metals trading business in the future, Zhou said: "As long as the prospect of personal precious metals market is not clear enough, it is not excluded that some institutions will tighten their personal precious metals business in the future. From the perspective of prudent investment, when the short-term market faces great uncertainty, investors generally need to control their positions and leverage, or optimize their investment portfolio. At present, some banks adjust their related transactions according to changes in the market environment, which is a normal business adjustment, but it does not mean that related businesses will be closed forever. It is expected that some banks will readjust their business when the precious metals market becomes clearer. "