The number of protagonists who can live broadcast everything is still increasing, and this time it is the bank credit card, loan and other financial products that enter the live broadcast room.
Just click on the small windmill at the bottom of the screen and fill in a few lines of information to apply for a credit card and confirm whether to enter the interview according to the SMS prompt. For example, a state-owned bank has a short video account with 97,9 followers in its credit card center, and its live broadcast history shows that the account started more than 5 live broadcasts from May 16 to July 7.
The reporter of China Youth Daily noticed that there are only two conditions for credit card applications introduced in the live broadcast room of many banks, being over 18 years old and having a stable source of income. However, the anchors will also remind that submitting an application online does not mean passing the qualification review, and the final activation of the credit card still requires an interview.
In fact, the marketing of financial products by many banks through new online channels such as live streaming and social platforms has attracted the attention of the market and regulatory authorities. On July 7, the Risk Disposal Bureau of the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the Notice on Conducting Research on Online Live Streaming Sales (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") to banks, intending to carry out written research. The Notice sets out seven major questions, and the research content mainly focuses on banks' online live streaming sales since 4 and past complaints and disputes.
Ma Sichao, associate professor at the School of Finance at Capital University of Economics and Business, said: "Unlike other products, financial products are creditor-debt relationships between buyers and sellers, and once credit loans or wealth management products are involved, consumers will bear greater risks. ”
The credit demand behind the live stream is insufficient
This isn't the first time finance-related content has appeared in the live broadcast room. Ma Sichao remembers that in 2020, some banks carried out online live broadcasts, when the focus was on popularizing financial knowledge and introducing various banking businesses, and sales of credit cards, loans, wealth management and other products were still rare.
Liu Ruibin, vice president of Shandong Weifang Rural Commercial Bank, said in an interview with the media that the traditional business development model such as "sweeping the street" and distributing leaflets is relatively costly and has limited results, and the high-frequency use of video live broadcast during the epidemic has also given birth to a video service model belonging to the banking industry.
In Ma Sichao's view, the use of live broadcast can attract traffic to traditional banks and enhance customer interaction to a certain extent, but whether it can sell financial products such as loans in the live broadcast room is still a question that needs to be explored. Taking loan products as an example, he said that at this stage, the live broadcast room may be used as an entrance to diversion to allow customers to upload the most basic information more conveniently, "but further loan approval still needs to follow the traditional offline review process."
For the recent live broadcast of loan business on short video platforms, many industry experts said that it was caused by insufficient credit demand.
"It can be said that the loan line of banks is sufficient, but the market is less enthusiastic than before." Ma Sichao noted that since June this year, many banks have followed the e-commerce platform to carry out 6 promotion activities, including issuing interest coupons and inviting multiple people to buy in groups, etc., "Consumer loans have become an important starting point for many commercial banks to seize market share, and the main method is to reduce loan interest rates." ”
On June 6, the loan market quotation rate (LPR) was lowered. On the same day People's Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Lending Center announced that the LPR on June 20, 2023 was: 6-year LPR was 20.1%, a reduction of 3 basis points, and LPR over 55 years was 10.5%, also reduced by 4 basis points. Since then, some banks have also lowered the interest rate of credit loans, including consumer loans.
In this regard, Zhou Maohua, macro researcher of the financial market department of China Everbright Bank, said that consumer loan interest rates continue to fall, on the one hand, affected by market competition, domestic consumer confidence and consumer loan demand are in the recovery stage, superimposed banks actively promote the development of consumer loan business, and competition in the industry is fierce. On the other hand, in recent years, in response to the complex economic environment at home and abroad, macro policies have been more active, and the center of market interest rates has continued to decline.
"The current situation facing banks is that the spread between deposits and loans is narrowing rapidly, on the one hand, the loan interest rate on the asset side is declining, but on the other hand, the reduction of the debt side, especially the deposit interest rate, is relatively rigid, and the net profit margin is further compressed." Wang Ren, a professor at the School of Finance at Capital University of Economics and Business, told reporters that when he recently investigated several banks, he also found that banks face greater operating pressure in the case of shrinking net profits, "which also leads some local banks to choose to use live broadcasts to increase the promotion of loan products." ”
Financial product live streaming requires caution
In fact, whether it is the live broadcast of financial science popularization in 2020 or the live broadcast of financial products today, risk prevention has always been the focus of regulatory authorities. The "Tips on Preventing Risks Related to Financial Live Streaming Marketing" issued by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2020 mentioned situations such as "confusion of financial live broadcast marketing entities, or hidden risks of fraud" and "risk of misleading sales in real-time marketing activities".
"Some financial products are introduced live with a very low interest rate, but not all consumers can apply for it, and some loan products are introduced as being able to reach their accounts remotely." Ma Sichao said that such insufficient information disclosure can easily lead to a kind of misleading consumption.
The reporter noticed that some anchors will emphasize "10-day interest-free for new customers" when introducing loan products, and when netizens ask about the specific amount and interest rate, they will reply that "the specific minimum interest rate and maximum amount depend on the final review and assessment results".
Some bank staff said that in terms of applicants obtaining credit, the live broadcast channel is no different from other channels, but because each person's credit situation is different and the needs are different, the final amount and interest rate will be different, which also increases the possibility of corresponding complaints.
"Some audiences watching the live broadcast may not meet the corresponding loan qualifications or risk awareness requirements, and if these audiences are included in the scope of bank credit services, financial risks will accumulate." In Wang Ren's view, this is also one of the risks in the field of consumer finance, that is, excessive channel sinking leads to mismatch of products and customers.
Ma Sichao also mentioned that while traditional banks provide financial products through channels, they must first fully disclose information and risk warnings in terms of content review, enhance their awareness of compliance operations, and strictly control the investment advisory qualifications of live broadcast entities. He said that the dividends of digital financial inclusion are benefiting more small and micro enterprises, old and young people in border and poor areas, but it is undeniable that the digital divide still exists, "when accessing financial services or products, some consumers who do not have enough financial knowledge may be misled and take greater risks." ”
He also added that while protecting the rights and interests of consumers, banks should also maintain a cautious attitude towards risk prevention, "If the loan is released and cannot be collected, it will also form bad debts, and finally lead to systemic financial risks." ”
China Youth Daily / China Youth Network reporter Zhu Caiyun Source: China Youth Daily