Our reporter Peng Yan Xiong Yue
Under the consumption opportunity of "trade in the old for the new", banks and other financial institutions have launched financial products and services such as consumer loans, credit card installment rate concessions, and full or reduced credit card payments for various consumption scenarios.
Recently, the reporter of Securities Daily learned that consumer loan products used to purchase cars, household appliances, home decoration, consumer electronics and other consumer goods are the focus of all major commercial banks. In order to compete for market share, most of these consumer loan products are attractive in terms of the setting of loan limit, loan term, loan interest rate, loan granting time, etc.
Du Yang, a researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute, said that the bank launched various old for new loan products and preferential measures. First, it helped stimulate consumer demand and promote consumption upgrading. The "old for new" policy is a new engine for improving the quality and upgrading of residents' consumption, which helps to promote the high-end, green and intelligent development of China's consumer market. The second is to drive the development of relevant real industries. The "old for new" policy will drive market demand in home appliances, automobiles, electronic products and other fields, and real enterprises will have more power to increase R&D investment and improve product quality, thus forming a virtuous circle between the supply side and the demand side. Third, promote financial market innovation. Banks can further explore diversified financial products, constantly enrich the consumer credit product system, and meet the diversified financial needs of consumers.
Activate the "old for new" consumer market
In order to promote the "old for new" consumption, many banks have recently taken the initiative to launch relevant financial products and services to support the "old for new" consumption of consumer goods. According to the Action Plan for Promoting Large scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade in, issued by the State Council earlier, the market for cars, household appliances, home furnishings and other "old for new" products is large, and various consumer loan products launched by banks are mainly concentrated in the above consumption areas.
The reporter learned that consumer loan products related to the "old for new" are the main force of many bank marketing. For example, the official WeChat official account of Bank of Central Plains recently released a series of new products of "Huanxin Loans", including "Huanxin e-Loans", "Huanxin New Loans" and "Huanxin Housing Loans", which are respectively targeted at high-quality customers who have the demand for home appliances, cars, real estate and other old for new consumption. The focus of product marketing is mainly on loan interest rate preference, loan interest subsidy, high loan amount, long loan term, simple procedures, fast loan granting, etc.
The product publicity of Qingdao Rural Commercial Bank shows that the loan line of the "old for new consumer loan" launched by the bank can reach 1 million yuan at most, and the loan term can reach 5 years at most. The loan interest rate is preferential.
The reporter also learned that some banks have certain restrictions on the application of the "old for new" consumer loan products, and the preferential interest rate is mainly issued to the bank's white list customers. For example, the "old for new" consumer loan product launched by Agricultural Bank of China Hebei Branch is applicable to customers who normally pay provident fund, official employees of government agencies, enterprises and institutions, VIP customers of Agricultural Bank of China, housing loan customers, and payroll customers.
The personal credit business staff of a city commercial bank told the reporter that the interest rate of the bank's "old for new" loan product was 4.15% for ordinary customers, and the interest rate preference was mainly for the bank's high-quality whitelist enterprise employees. The degree of interest rate preference depended on the nature of the enterprise, ranging from 3.35% to 3.75%; The loan amount can reach 500000 yuan, and the amount of qualified high-quality customers will be increased.
In addition, the bank's credit card installment business also launched a series of "old for new" support policies. For example, Bank of Jiangsu, in conjunction with JD, Suning, Pinduoduo and other platforms, provides inclusive price concessions for mobile phone communications, household appliances, computer digital, home building materials and other goods by using trade in plus credit card installment payment discounts. During the period from March 22, 2024 to May 31, 2024, credit card holders of Bank of Jiangsu will have the opportunity to enjoy a discount of 80 yuan less for a single order of 2000 yuan and 200 yuan less for a single order of 5000 yuan when they purchase old for new products on Suning E-shop (including online APP/WAP) or Starmap Financial APP.
Innovative financial products and services
Industry insiders generally believe that the "old for new" policy will open up a new blue ocean for bank retail consumption business.
Tian Lihui, president of the Financial Development Research Institute of Nankai University, said that for banks themselves, the introduction of "old for new" consumer loans was an important measure to expand their business areas and improve their profitability. In fact, the consumption of large commodities is an important area for banks to develop consumer loans. Banks can make full use of the market opportunities brought by the trade in of consumer goods to do a good job in relevant financial services. First, strengthen policy publicity and guidance; Second, innovate financial products and service models, including optimizing business processes and improving the availability and convenience of consumer loan services; Communicate with the competent department of the industry, strengthen cooperation with businesses, find out the key points of work, and accelerate project docking.
In Du Yang's view, in order to cope with the market opportunities brought by the consumption of trade in, banks should first optimize the product system, provide consumers with convenient and low-cost financing channels through consumer loans, credit card installments, etc., and help consumers buy new goods; The second is to strengthen risk management, and conduct accurate risk assessment for the trade in business, including consumer credit assessment, old commodity value assessment, etc; Third, through online and offline channels, carry out diversified publicity and promotion activities to improve consumers' awareness of the "old for new" financial services; Fourth, in the trade in business, banks can give priority to supporting energy-saving and environment-friendly new products, and promote the popularization of the concept of green consumption. Fifth, strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers.
It is worth noting that in the process of implementing the "old for new" consumer loan, there may be difficulties such as how to reduce the loan risk, how to accurately evaluate the value and depreciation of old equipment, and how to improve the market's acceptance and participation of the old for new products.
"Banks need to strengthen credit evaluation and risk management for consumers, reduce loan risks and ensure capital security. At the same time, they need to establish a scientific and reasonable evaluation system to ensure the rationality and accuracy of the loan limit," said Tian Lihui.
