告别“比谁更便宜” 金融圈重塑行业竞争链

Core Viewpoint - The financial industry is facing a significant challenge of "involution," characterized by price wars and homogeneous competition, necessitating a shift towards quality and innovation to escape the current predicament [1][2][3]. Group 1: Involution and Competition - Involution in the financial sector is defined as irrational price competition that sacrifices product quality and service to gain market share, leading to a low-level repetitive competition and a lack of high-quality supply [2][3][5]. - Regulatory bodies in various regions, including Guangdong and Anhui, are implementing negative lists and self-regulatory agreements to combat involution and promote fair competition [2][10]. - The competition is primarily driven by scale metrics, with institutions focusing on growth indicators that lead to practices such as misleading sales and excessive marketing [3][4][10]. Group 2: Impact of Homogeneity - The financial industry is experiencing severe product and service homogeneity, with many institutions resorting to similar offerings, which diminishes innovation and leads to price-based competition [6][7][9]. - The lack of differentiation in products, such as credit cards and insurance offerings, has resulted in a race to the bottom in pricing, further compressing profit margins [2][6][7]. - The trend of short-sighted management and blind expansion has led to a neglect of risk management and long-term value creation, exacerbating the issues of involution [3][5][9]. Group 3: Regulatory and Structural Changes - Experts suggest that regulatory bodies should enhance negative lists and self-regulatory mechanisms to curb unfair competition and promote a focus on quality over quantity [9][10]. - Financial institutions are encouraged to innovate and differentiate their offerings, focusing on long-term strategic transformation rather than short-term scale expansion [8][9]. - The recent regulatory actions, such as setting a 3% interest rate floor for consumer loans, aim to eliminate the previous practices that masked true investment capabilities and promote genuine competition based on performance [11].