Different concepts

Off-balance-sheet business refers to the business that commercial banks engage in, which is not included in the balance sheet according to the current accounting standards and does not form real assets and liabilities, but can cause changes in current profits and losses.

Intermediary business refers to the business that does not constitute on-balance-sheet assets and on-balance-sheet liabilities of banks, but forms non-interest income of banks.

Different risks

Off-balance-sheet businesses will bear certain additional risks, while intermediary businesses will not bear or directly bear market risks.

Different contents

Off-balance-sheet business includes guarantee and commitment, agency investment and financing services, intermediary services and others.

Intermediary business includes the business of collecting service fees or bid-ask spreads on behalf of customers, such as wealth management business, consulting, buying and selling funds and bonds on behalf of customers, buying and selling capital products on behalf of customers, charging agents, custody, payment and settlement, etc.

1, the relationship between off-balance sheet business and intermediate business

1) Off-balance-sheet business and intermediate business are all businesses that need to be charged. Handling fee is the reward that banks get for providing various services to customers, which is different from the deposit-loan spread income that banks get through credit activities. (loan commitment)

2) Traditional intermediary business is all off-balance-sheet business, but off-balance-sheet business is not necessarily intermediary business, and there is some overlap between off-balance-sheet business and intermediary business. For example, the letter of credit business is an intermediary business, but in terms of connotation, the letter of credit business has the nature of guarantee business, so the letter of credit business is both an intermediary business and an off-balance sheet business.

3) Off-balance sheet business and intermediate business are entrusted to carry out business activities.

The main feature of commercial banks in all kinds of off-balance-sheet business and intermediate business is that they do not appear directly as a party to credit activities. Under normal circumstances, they do not use or use their own available funds, and do not finance as creditors or debtors, but only provide various financial services as intermediaries or handle entrusted matters such as payment for customers, that is to say, off-balance sheet business is a kind of entrusted business (mainly at the request of customers).

Therefore, whether banks need to carry out some financial services depends on the needs of customers.