“贷款综合收益不得为负”成新红线

Core Insights - The central viewpoint of the news is that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) emphasizes the need for better utilization of the interest rate self-discipline mechanism as the interest rate marketization reform enters a critical phase, setting a pricing floor for loans at "comprehensive returns cannot be negative" [2] Group 1: Interest Rate Marketization - The PBOC reports significant progress in interest rate marketization reforms, indicating that administrative controls on interest rates have been lifted, establishing a market-based interest rate formation and transmission mechanism [2] - Despite the progress, challenges remain in achieving effective interest rate formation and adjustment [2] Group 2: Loan and Deposit Rates - Since the reform of the Loan Prime Rate (LPR), loan rates have decreased significantly more than policy rates due to insufficient pricing power among banks and intense competition, while deposit rates have decreased less than policy rates [2] - This disparity has led to a narrowing of banks' net interest margins and declining profitability, which is detrimental to the stable operation of banks and their ability to support the real economy [2] Group 3: Banking Sector Performance - As of Q3 2025, the non-performing loan (NPL) balance of commercial banks reached 3.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 88.3 billion yuan from the previous quarter, with an NPL ratio of 1.52%, reflecting a slight increase [3] - The net interest margin for commercial banks was reported at 1.42%, stable compared to the previous quarter but down 11 basis points year-on-year, indicating ongoing pressure in the banking sector [3] Group 4: Regulatory Measures - The PBOC has taken steps to enhance banks' internal management of interest rate pricing and rectify irregular practices, such as manual interest compensation and arbitrage [5] - Measures include establishing a deposit rate adjustment mechanism and requiring banks to include "interest rate adjustment clauses" in deposit service agreements to stabilize the deposit market [5] Group 5: Loan Pricing and Demand - The PBOC's requirement that comprehensive returns on loans must not be negative emphasizes the need for banks to consider funding costs, operational costs, risk costs, and capital return requirements when pricing loans [6] - In a challenging economic environment with insufficient loan demand, banks must enhance their service capabilities to improve pricing power, focusing on differentiated services to retain clients [7]