The crackdown on typical issues of disorderly competition, such as high-yield deposit schemes and hidden loan rebates, aims to stabilize net interest margins. "In the first half of the year, typical problems like illegal rebates for mortgages and the 'high interest, high rebate' model in auto loans were curbed, and the net interest margin of the banking industry has shown a trend of stabilization and recovery." This was the assessment from a Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau official during a press conference on July 29, regarding the regulation of disorderly competition in the banking sector.
As of the end of June, the total assets of Shenzhen's banking industry stood at 15.31 trillion yuan, with total liabilities at 14.92 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 9.56% and 9.57%, respectively. Deposit and loan balances were 10.59 trillion yuan and 10.3 trillion yuan, respectively, growing by 3.63% and 4.75% year-on-year. The Shenzhen financial regulator official revealed that the current rectification of disorderly competition in the banking industry primarily focuses on typical issues such as high-yield deposit schemes and hidden loan rebates, with the goal of stabilizing net interest margins.
A representative from the Shenzhen Banking Association explained that during the rectification process, a closed loop of "setting standards, strengthening monitoring, and imposing strict penalties" was formed through "screening, verification, and rectification." The focus was on typical issues like the "high interest, high rebate" model in auto finance and illegal rebates in mortgage loans. Key institutions were closely monitored, and measures such as talks, notices, and transferring case clues were used to take action against offending institutions. The representative stated that the compliance awareness of Shenzhen's banking industry has been further enhanced, with the phenomena of "high interest, high rebate" and illegal rebates being effectively curbed. Businesses like auto finance and mortgage loans are gradually returning to a pattern of healthy competition, and the net interest margin of the banking industry in the area is showing a stable and improving trend.
In the first half of this year, loan disbursements in key areas by Shenzhen's banking industry achieved relatively rapid growth. Data from the Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau shows that as of the end of June, the balance of personal consumer loans in the area was 834.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.06%. The balance of manufacturing loans was 1.93 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.92% year-on-year. The balance of foreign trade loans from Chinese banks was 1.37 trillion yuan, an increase of 22.17% year-on-year. The balance of loans to technology-oriented enterprises was 1.54 trillion yuan, an increase of 18.06% from the beginning of the year.
In the area of inclusive finance, as of the end of June, Shenzhen's banking industry had cumulatively visited 2.4995 million business entities and disbursed 1.38 trillion yuan in loans. In cross-border finance, the "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect" service had cumulatively served 33,000 individual investors, with cross-border remittances totaling 56.34 billion yuan. At the same time, the process of reducing the number of small and medium-sized institutions while improving their quality, as well as risk disposal, is steadily advancing. In the first half of this year, Shenzhen completed the conversion of two village banks into branches. The banking industry in the area cumulatively approved 443 real estate enterprise "white list" projects, disbursing 436.524 billion yuan in loans.
In the first half of this year, various business indicators for Shenzhen's insurance industry also achieved rapid growth. Statistics from the Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau show that in the first half of the year, the original insurance premium income for the area's insurance industry was 127.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.31%, ranking first in growth rate among first-tier cities. Among this, the original insurance premium income for property insurance was 35.094 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.76%; for life insurance, it was 92.65 billion yuan, an increase of 4.41% year-on-year. Compensation and payouts totaled 40.24 billion yuan, an increase of 3.86% year-on-year.
In response to key issues existing in the industry, rectification actions in Shenzhen's insurance sector are also ongoing. A representative from the Shenzhen Insurance Association noted that since the beginning of this year, 17 rounds of auto insurance self-discipline inspections have been carried out, and 35 property insurance companies have been subject to inspections on premium payment and expense control. For key institutions with abnormal indicators and non-standard data, comprehensive checks on bancassurance business have been implemented, and a comprehensive inspection system for non-auto insurance has been established. Self-discipline penalties, such as suspending new business, have been imposed on institutions that violate self-discipline agreements.
The core task of this rectification in Shenzhen's insurance industry is to reduce the expense risk spread. Statistics show that as of the end of June, the comprehensive expense ratio for auto insurance in Shenzhen has achieved a month-on-month decline for six consecutive months. The comprehensive expense ratios for corporate property insurance and engineering insurance have seen double-digit declines year-on-year, with the bancassurance channel showing significant cost reduction effects. The cleanup and rectification of insurance institutions are also advancing simultaneously. Since the beginning of this year, 16 inefficient insurance branch offices have been dissolved in Shenzhen, and 16 insurance intermediary institutions in abnormal statuses, such as those with "no personnel, no venue, no capital," have been cleared out. Meanwhile, three local insurance legal entities have completed capital replenishment of over 6 billion yuan.