Who will be the "third family"
In response to an inquiry, the customer service hotline of China Merchants Bank indicated that since February 1 day, mainland customers who want to open a savings card "Hong Kong Card" in Hong Kong must meet the conditions of being 18 years old, being a mainland resident and holding a private diamond card of China Merchants Bank (private bank card or diamond card), and having an average daily asset of not less than 5 million yuan for three consecutive months. The customer service staff said that this adjustment is the requirement of China Merchants Bank's business process transformation and Hong Kong system optimization.
Generally speaking, mainland residents open Hong Kong accounts, which are mainly used for purchasing and renewing Hong Kong insurance premiums, overseas investment and cross-border transfer. Since 20 16, there has been a strong demand for mainland funds to go to sea, and mainlanders have been pouring into Hong Kong to open accounts. China Merchants Bank's "Hong Kong Card" is popular because of its convenient handling and low asset threshold. According to industry insiders, it is beyond the reach of ordinary customers to ask for 5 million yuan in cash in the account now, which will shut out most people's account opening needs.
In addition to China Merchants Bank and Citibank, recently, some Hong Kong-funded banks in the Mainland and Chinese banks with branches in Hong Kong have also tightened the qualifications of mainland investors. The customer service staff of China Bank said that customers need to add the conditions of purchasing insurance products for one year or purchasing wealth management products for more than two months, and the purchase amount exceeds 200,000 yuan. Although other banks have not set a limit on the threshold of personal assets for the time being, they are becoming more and more strict in qualification examination. Even if the materials are well prepared, the application may not be passed.
A few years ago, it was relatively easy for customers to open accounts in Hong Kong, and banks in Hong Kong were also very welcome. Some insiders believe that the wind is gradually changing now, and it is increasingly difficult for mainlanders to open bank accounts in Hong Kong, which may be even more difficult in the future. Some media have speculated that who will become the "third" after the two banks greatly raise the threshold for opening accounts?
The bank's "follow the trend"
It is worth noting that these are closely related to the judgment that "the channel for personal funds to go to sea is constantly tightening". As for this old-fashioned topic, it was heated once when mainland residents were restricted from buying insurance in Hong Kong at the end of last year, and it was also heated once when the latest individual foreign exchange purchase policy was released at the beginning of this year. Recently, China Merchants Bank raised the threshold for opening an account 100 times, and naturally it was taken out again.
The staff of RMB business of a bank in Hong Kong said that there is a strong demand for mainland funds to go to sea. Especially since last year, mainlanders have been pouring into Hong Kong to open accounts, and the withdrawal of cash from Hong Kong banks has also increased significantly. "It is not ruled out that other banks will gradually raise the threshold in the future to maintain the compliance of cross-border capital flows." The implication is that Hong Kong's tightening of mainland accounts is to some extent to prevent money laundering.
Some commentators believe that, in fact, under the pressure of RMB depreciation against the US dollar, the rise and fall of foreign exchange holdings, and the accelerated outflow of capital, it is not surprising that banks have complied with the management's intention to stabilize the exchange rate and lock in capital, and raised the threshold for opening overseas accounts.
Some media said that in 20 16, the RMB fell by 7% against the US dollar, the biggest drop in recent years. Under the expectation of the Fed's interest rate hike, the pressure of capital outflow will continue to expand. This year's latest "Application Form for Individual Purchase of Foreign Exchange" clearly points out that it shall not be used for overseas house purchase, securities investment, purchase of life insurance and dividend insurance for return on investment and other capital projects that have not yet been opened. Under the pressure of safe, Bank of Chinese mainland has taken a series of measures to control capital outflow, so as to reduce the pressure of RMB depreciation. In addition, the threshold for opening accounts in Hong Kong banks has been greatly improved, and the channels for personal funds to go to sea have been basically blocked.
Open the window and it won't close again.
However, the tightening of account opening is not only aimed at the "wolf coming" of mainland funds. In fact, although Citibank has raised the threshold for opening an account by 150 times, the standard is the same. In other words, raising the threshold is not only for mainland customers, but also for all international customers.
Ruan, vice president of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said recently that many practices are based on the analysis of banks' own risks. In fact, apart from the difficulty for mainlanders to open accounts in Hong Kong, the tightening of bank risk management has also made it very difficult for many Hong Kong locals and SMEs to open accounts. At present, HKMA requires banks to introduce a review mechanism so that customers who fail to apply have the right to appeal.
In response to the judgment that "the channel for personal funds to go to sea is constantly tightening", Pan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in an interview with the media a few days ago that he would not return to the old road of capital control and the open window would not be closed again.
Pan stressed that the foreign exchange management policy has not changed. In the new year, the foreign exchange supervision department will strengthen supervision and severely crack down on illegal acts such as false foreign investment by enterprises, false profit remittance, false trade background to defraud foreign exchange, individual split purchase and payment of foreign exchange, illegal trading of foreign exchange, and external transfer of assets under the guise of trade or investment channels.
He also pointed out that at present, some overseas insurance purchases are under the current account, and there are no restrictions, such as personal accident insurance and illness insurance purchased when traveling abroad. However, if you buy investment dividend insurance, which belongs to individual capital, China is not yet open. Therefore, overseas purchase of investment insurance products violates China's current foreign exchange management policy.
For example, some insiders in Hong Kong say that many mainlanders only open accounts in Hong Kong to buy insurance, and the funds are in a hurry, which has aroused the vigilance of Hong Kong banks. Combined with Pan's statement, the qualification of mainland customers to open accounts in Hong Kong banks has become stricter, which is indeed the result of joint efforts of many parties.