Entering China
Recently, the international gold price has repeatedly hit new highs, and banks have raised the threshold for the subscription of accumulated funds. Industry insiders believe that banks adjust the rules of provident fund business not only to adapt to market changes, but also to control business risks; It is recommended that investors invest rationally according to market conditions, their own investment experience, investment expectations and other factors.
Recently, as the international gold price broke through the US$3,000 per ounce mark, the bank’s gold business ushered in a boom, and its risk control measures were tightened simultaneously.
On the evening of March 18, Bank of Ningbo announced that due to the recent fluctuations in domestic gold prices, the bank will adjust the minimum purchase amount of accumulated gold from 700 yuan to 800 yuan from March 19, 2025, and the minimum purchase grams by weight will remain unchanged at 1 gram. If the purchase amount is less than 800 RMB, the transaction application will not be successfully submitted.
Previously, many banks have raised the threshold for accumulation fund business. For example, in February this year, China Merchants Bank adjusted the starting point of fixed investment in gold accounts from 1 gram/650 yuan to 1 gram/700 yuan; The Bank of China has also adjusted the minimum purchase amount from $650 to $700.
A reporter from Shanghai Securities News noticed that in addition to increasing the minimum purchase amount, many banks have also lowered the interest rate on gold accounts. For example, China Merchants Bank recently lowered the current interest rate of gold accounts from 0.10% to 0.01%, and the annualized current interest rate of personal savings of China CITIC Bank from 0.35% to 0.15%.
According to the Interim Measures for the Administration of Gold Accumulation Business issued by the People’s Bank of China, gold accumulation refers to the liabilities of financial institutions that open gold accounts for customers in accordance with the agreement with customers and record the liabilities of customers in a certain period of time. Gold accumulation products have a minimum business unit of 1 gram.
Bankers said that because the minimum business unit of gold accumulation products is 1 gram, with the rapid rise in gold prices since the beginning of the year, banks have had to raise the minimum purchase point of accumulation funds to meet regulatory requirements.
“After the gold price in Shanghai exceeded 700 yuan/gram, the bank needed to raise the threshold to maintain the minimum purchase standard of 1 gram of gold.” Zhu Zhigang, chief analyst of Guangdong Gold Association, said that at present, banks adopt this “dynamic adjustment of amount + fixed gram” model, which not only meets the requirements of the People’s Bank of China’s interim measures for the management of gold accumulation business, but also effectively controls the operational risks caused by small transactions.
Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that the bank raised the subscription threshold for accumulation funds, which on the one hand helps banks screen out customers with more risk tolerance and investment experience, and on the other hand, can control the scale of personal gold accumulation business and avoid potential risks caused by excessive business expansion.
On March 18, the Shanghai Gold Exchange issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Control of Recent Market Risks”, saying that the price of precious metals has continued to fluctuate sharply recently, and market risks have intensified. All member units are requested to make risk emergency plans, maintain the smooth operation of the market, and remind investors to do a good job in risk prevention, reasonably control positions, and invest rationally.
“With the rise in gold prices, investor enthusiasm has been further stimulated.” Lou Feipeng, a researcher at the Postal Savings Bank, said that although in the long run, gold prices are likely to show an upward trend, but due to the large short-term increase, there may be a risk of price adjustment in the future. In this case, the bank raised the threshold of gold accumulation investment, which is also a reminder to investors to pay attention to risks to a certain extent.
How should investors avoid risks? Lou Feipeng believes that the gold accumulation business is more flexible and suitable for long-term investment, and investors need to invest rationally according to market conditions, their own investment experience, investment expectations and other factors, and do not blindly chase high.
