The volume of outstanding structured deposits in China has seen a sharp decline during the Covid pandemic, following a crack down from regulators due to risk concerns.
Data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) indicates that as of the end of 2022 the outstanding balance of structured deposits at China’s nationwide commercial banks was 4.560692 trillion yuan, for a decline of 522.99 billion yuan compared to the figure of 5.083682 trillion yuan at the end of 2021.
The structured deposits balance fell by over 160 billion yuan at large-scale banks, with the decline concentrated in personal structured deposits.
At small and medium-sized banks structured deposits fell by over 360 billion yuan, primarily amongst institutional clients.
Structured deposits in China have fallen steadily since the end of April 2020, when their outstanding balance reached a peak of over 12 trillion yuan. At the end of 2020 the outstanding balance of structured deposits had already dropped to 6.442658 trillion yuan.
PBOC data further indicates that most of the decline in the structured deposit balance in 2022 took place in December, with a one-month decline of 718.043 billion yuan. Structured deposits actually saw an increase in January 2022 compared to the end of 2021, before steadily declining steadily subsequently.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) recently published an article stating that it would “increase the quality of liabilities, optimise the liabilities structured, increase the stability of liabilities sources, and gradually reduce the share of structured deposits and margin deposits.”
