Recently, most banks have lowered deposit rates when the market was originally full of liquidity, so that the current deposit rate has fallen below the bottom line of 3%, the lowest level in recent decades. However, on the contrary, some banks have recently seen an unusual increase in deposit rates. Henan Huaibin Rural Commercial Bank, Guangxi Xing'an Minxing Village Bank and Henan Gushi Rural Commercial Bank have announced some deposit interest rate increases, which has attracted the attention of the market.
1. The demand for liquidity at the end of the year led to an increase in deposit rates
The end of the year is a period when the demand for funds is relatively large, which is not only the peak period for corporate loans, but also the time when residents and enterprises take out cash to pay expenses such as wages and bonuses. These actions have had a certain impact on the liquidity of banks. In order to meet liquidity needs and ensure that the loan-to-deposit ratio meets regulatory requirements, most banks will raise deposit rates at the end of the year to attract more deposits. Therefore, the increase in deposit interest by banks is a response to the liquidity needs at the end of the year.
2. The good start activity led to the increase in deposit interest rates in advance
The opening event is very important for banks, and whether they can achieve their deposit targets during the year is largely dependent on the good start at the beginning of the year. Due to the shortage of deposits, some small banks will start their activities early, even in December. In order to attract more deposit customers, banks will raise deposit rates. Especially in the current situation of low overall deposit rates, some small banks have recently raised interest rates ranging from 10 bp to 50 bp, which means that the same deposit amount will receive more interest income.
1. The easing of market liquidity has caused banks to pay attention to interest rate spreads
At present, the overall market liquidity is relatively loose, and the financing demand of the whole society is relatively slow. Coupled with the poor performance of the property market, residents' demand for loans has also slowed down. In contrast, the balance of deposits in the hands of residents is relatively high, and the scale of new deposits has even reached more than 10 trillion yuan every year. It can be seen that the bank's liquidity constraint has eased. In this case, in order to maintain interest rate spreads, banks will generally reduce deposit rates. However, the actions of specific banks in raising interest rates suggest that they are more focused on raising their spreads than desperately trying to get on deposits.
2. Further reductions in deposit rates will occur
Although some small banks are currently raising deposit rates, some banks are actually lowering interest rates. Guangxi Beihai Rural Credit Cooperatives have lowered the maturity of certain deposits. This shows that on the whole, the liquidity of banks in the market is still relatively abundant, and the demand for deposits by banks is not strong. As a result, further reductions in deposit rates are also possible in the future. It should be noted that in the current market environment, competition for limited resources still exists, and the specific trend of deposit interest rates needs to be comprehensively considered market demand, regulatory policies and other factors.
As some small banks have raised their deposit rates, participating in the opening event has become an opportunity to increase the value of deposits. In the case of low overall deposit interest rates, deposits can obtain higher interest income by taking advantage of the bank's good start activities. Although the big banks are not very interested in this at the moment, some small banks still pay attention to the opening event in order to meet the demand for deposits. Therefore, it is a good option for people who want to get more interest on their deposits. However, it should be noted that after the good start, deposit rates of most banks are likely to fall again.
The recent increase in deposit rates by banks is actually a strategy to cope with the liquidity needs at the end of the year and to launch a good start. This suggests that banks are more focused on spread yields than on large-scale deposit growth in a highly competitive and liquid environment. For depositors, participating in the bank's opening activities can earn higher interest income. However, it is important to note that most banks are likely to continue to cut deposit rates after the event ends. In the future changes in deposit interest rates, market liquidity, demand conditions and regulatory policies will be the influencing factors, and investors should make reasonable choices and adjustments according to the actual situation.