国有大行也表态了！工行明确下半年将带头整治“内卷式竞争”，银行业反内卷正向纵深推进

Core Viewpoint - The Chinese banking industry is undergoing a significant shift towards reducing "involution" in competition, as emphasized by recent government meetings and actions from major banks [1][2][3]. Group 1: Regulatory Actions and Industry Response - The Central Political Bureau meeting highlighted the need to optimize market competition and regulate disorderly competition in the banking sector [1]. - Following Guangdong's initiative against involution, other regional banking associations are beginning to adopt similar self-regulatory measures [1][5]. - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has made combating involution a key focus for the second half of the year, marking a significant step among state-owned banks [1][3]. Group 2: Causes of Involution - A banking official noted that the excessive supply of funds without good outlets has led banks to compete for loans, resulting in price involution [2]. - Factors contributing to the banking industry's involution include economic adjustments affecting traditional business sectors, intensified competition from peers and non-bank financial institutions, and reduced salaries impacting frontline employees [2][4]. - The decline in effective credit demand is directly linked to the involution observed in the banking sector [3][4]. Group 3: Impact on Credit and Monetary Policy - The core issue of involution is attributed to insufficient effective credit demand, leading to lower interest rates for high-quality credit clients [4]. - The People's Bank of China has indicated that severe involution is affecting the effectiveness of monetary policy, with deposit rates unable to decrease while loan rates are falling rapidly [4][10]. - The average loan interest rate has decreased by 1.9 percentage points from 2019 to 2024, while the average deposit rate has only dropped by 0.5 percentage points, highlighting the disparity caused by involution [4]. Group 4: Self-Regulation and Future Outlook - Recent self-regulatory agreements focus primarily on retail banking, while previous efforts in corporate banking have already begun to address involution [5][6]. - The effectiveness of self-regulatory measures is under scrutiny, with concerns that local initiatives may lack the strength of national policies [7][9]. - The banking sector is encouraged to pursue transformation and consolidation opportunities as a response to the pressures of involution, potentially leading to new business models [11].