Here is the translation of the provided text into English: "Squatting on a large-denomination certificate of deposit" "Is there any transferable certificate of deposit available?"

Against the backdrop of interest rate cuts on deposits, large-denomination certificates of deposit have once again come into the public eye and are sought after by depositors.

On September 25th, the Beijing Business Daily reporter noticed that although the enthusiasm of depositors for purchasing remains undiminished, on the sales side, the "out of stock" and "instant sell-out" of long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit have also become the norm.

However, in this process, the attitude differences in the marketing efforts of different types of banks towards large-denomination certificates of deposit have gradually become apparent: few managers from large banks actively promote them, while local small and medium-sized banks maintain their enthusiasm, shifting their marketing focus to transferable large-denomination certificates of deposit to attract the attention of depositors.

The shortage and instant sell-out of large-denomination certificates of deposit have become the norm.

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"I've asked several banks, and they all say that there is no quota for long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit, and I need to wait in line," said Yang Zhen (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker, who found that it is increasingly difficult to buy large-denomination certificates of deposit.

"The interest rate for three-year large-denomination certificates of deposit has dropped to around 2.3%, and although the interest rate is relatively low, it is not something you can buy at will," Yang Zhen visited several large and medium-sized banks one after another and got almost the same answer, either there is no quota temporarily, or it is necessary to make an advance appointment and wait for allocation.

The suspension of long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit is a consideration for banks to maintain asset yield and reduce high-cost liabilities in a low-interest-rate environment.

The Beijing Business Daily reporter found that in offline marketing, due to the market being in a "shortage" state, the willingness of customer managers to recommend large-denomination certificates of deposit is also relatively "Buddhist".

Taking a joint-stock bank as an example, among the bank's best-selling large-denomination certificates of deposit products, only 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years are on sale, with the highest deposit interest rate for a 2-year term being 1.95%, and no 3-year or 5-year large-denomination certificate of deposit products are on the shelf.

"There is no quota for long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit in the bank at the moment, and it is suggested to look at other fixed deposit products of our bank, with the same interest rate performance," said the customer manager of this bank.

In the bank's mobile banking app, the fixed deposit on sale, with a minimum deposit amount of more than 1,000 yuan, has a 2-year deposit interest rate of 1.95%, which is the same as the interest rate performance of large-denomination certificates of deposit.

The same situation has also occurred in state-owned large banks.

A customer manager of a state-owned large bank in Beijing said, "At present, there are indeed no long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit on sale in the bank, and the specific shelf time has not been determined.

If the demand for capital liquidity is not particularly high, you can consider other types of products of our bank, such as short-term financial management, structured deposits, or insurance products, etc., which can also provide a good return guarantee."

Another customer manager of a state-owned large bank said, "At present, there is only one long-term large-denomination certificate of deposit with a quota in our bank, with an annual interest rate of 2.15%, but it is only for high-end customers, with a minimum purchase amount of 1 million yuan.

It is suggested that depositors with insufficient funds can look at our bank's fixed deposit products, with a minimum deposit of 50 yuan, and the highest annual interest rate for a 3-year term can also reach 2.15%."

For banks, large-denomination certificates of deposit mean higher fixed costs, and many banks have stopped selling long-term large-denomination certificates of deposit since the beginning of 2024.

In the view of Su Xiaoli, a senior researcher at Su Xi Zhi Yan, this move reflects that banking institutions have adopted an active contraction strategy.

The reason is that with the continuous narrowing of the net interest margin, banking institutions, out of consideration for liability cost management, have started to restrict the large-denomination certificate of deposit products that were relatively high in cost compared to interest rates, thereby alleviating pressure; deposit interest rates have undergone several rounds of adjustments, and the interest rate difference between some banks' ordinary deposit interest rates and long-term large-denomination certificate of deposit interest rates is almost negligible, and the cost-effectiveness advantage has been weakened.

Local banks are making efforts in transferable business.

Compared with the "Buddhist" marketing of large and medium-sized banks, local banks' enthusiasm for large-denomination certificates of deposit remains undiminished.

The Beijing Business Daily reporter noticed that recently, including Weifang Bank, Guizhou Bank, Su Shang Bank, Hua Xing Bank, etc., have all shifted their marketing focus to transferable large-denomination certificates of deposit to attract customers.

"Good returns on deposits" "Don't miss the transferable large-denomination certificate of deposit at 2.25%", Weifang Bank recently released several large-denomination certificate of deposit products of the bank, with deposit terms covering 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, with deposit annual interest rates of 1.5%, 1.6%, 2%, 2.2%, and 2.5% respectively.

Weifang Bank specially introduced the transferable function of large-denomination certificates of deposit.

For example, if a depositor buys a "transferable" large-denomination certificate of deposit product, and buys a 3-year large-denomination certificate of deposit product of 500,000 yuan in January 2024, if they urgently need 200,000 yuan in 1 year, they can log in to the mobile banking themselves and transfer 200,000 yuan of the large-denomination certificate of deposit product.

After the transfer, the remaining 300,000 yuan is still higher than the purchase starting point of 200,000 yuan for large-denomination certificates of deposit, and can continue to be executed according to the original 3-year deposit term.

Guizhou Bank Liupanshui Branch has also launched a large-denomination certificate of deposit product, with a 3-year term interest rate of 2.95%, and a maturity income of 17,700 yuan for a deposit of 200,000 yuan.

The product can be withdrawn in advance when there is a need for funds, and to reduce interest loss, a transfer can be applied for; Hua Xing Bank's large-denomination certificate of deposit product has a 5-year term interest rate of 3.05%, with a purchase of 500,000 yuan, there is about 76,000 yuan of deposit interest at maturity, and if there is an urgent need for money halfway, it also supports full/partial transfer; Su Shang Bank's large-denomination certificate of deposit transfer of less than 500,000 yuan per transaction, with an estimated fund arrival time of within 2 hours, and the product has an annual interest rate of 2.7% for a 3-year term.

Transferability is the most significant difference between large-denomination certificates of deposit and fixed deposits.

At present, some banks' large-denomination certificates of deposit on sale are equipped with transfer functions, and the holder can transfer through branches, online banking, or mobile banking, with no limit on the number of times, and no handling fee.

Before the introduction of the transfer function, depositors who wanted to cash out large-denomination certificates of deposit could only do so through pledge or early withdrawal, and both methods would cause a certain loss of interest.

Regarding the reason why local banks are vigorously promoting transferable large-denomination certificates of deposit, Wang Jianhui, a senior researcher in industrial economics, said that small and medium-sized banks have greater autonomy in interest rates, which corresponds to the systemic risks they face.

Because large banks have lower risks, the risk premium they can provide is also smaller, which is reflected in lower interest rates.

In contrast, small and medium-sized banks have a more limited ability to resist systemic risks, so in order to reflect their higher risk level, they usually set higher interest rates.

This flexibility in interest rates gives small and medium-sized banks a certain policy space and self-adjustment ability.

Considering the downward trend of deposit interest rates unchanged, the market generally believes that the issuance of large-denomination certificates of deposit may gradually slow down in the future, and the overall interest rate will continue to decline.

According to the data monitored by the 360 Digital Technology Research Institute, in August 2024, the average interest rate for large-denomination certificates of deposit issued was 1.615% for a 3-month term, 1.805% for a 6-month term, 1.911% for a 1-year term, 2.119% for a 2-year term, 2.427% for a 3-year term, and 2.385% for a 5-year term.

Compared with last month, the average interest rate for large-denomination certificates of deposit of all terms has fallen, with a drop of 4.8BP for 3 months, 6.5BP for 6 months, 9.9BP for 1 year, 14.9BP for 2 years, and 9.3BP for 3 years.

"Large banks reduce large-denomination certificates of deposit by controlling liability costs to alleviate the pressure of the continuous narrowing of the net interest margin.

In contrast, small and medium-sized banks are more proactive in promoting large-denomination certificates of deposit, aiming to attract more deposits to enhance their own capital strength and market competitiveness," said Ai Yawen, a senior analyst at the 360 Digital Technology Research Institute.

The tightening of large-denomination certificate of deposit quotas and the reduction of interest rates have become the norm, and the next step is for banks to promote business diversification, increase intermediate business income to compensate for the reduction of interest income brought about by low interest rates, strengthen services in the private banking field, develop new business space, use financial technology to optimize customer service experience, improve operational efficiency, and reduce costs; develop new financial products adapted to the low-interest-rate environment to meet the diversified needs of customers.

At the current stage, banks need to "take two steps at the same time," Wang Jianhui emphasized that on the one hand, they need to optimize deposit products to attract funds, and on the other hand, they need to strengthen loan issuance and investment activities.

The low-interest-rate environment provides a good opportunity to lock in low-cost funds for project investment or expansion of reproduction, and banks should actively develop a long-term stable customer base.

By improving the efficiency of capital use, creating stable investment returns, and attracting more depositors.