The "10% discount" fee rate is spreading, are banks "bleeding" to sell funds this time?

Commercial banks, "pushed to the wall" by third-party sales agencies, have finally begun to "strike back" vigorously in the public fund sales sector!

As the second week of 2025 begins, commercial banks have raised the "flag of fee reduction," lowering the fund distribution fee rate to "10%."

For example, MINSHENG BANK, Bank of Qingdao, and others have announced that the deadline for the fund distribution fee discount activity is set for March 31, 2025.

More proactive banks like INDUSTRIAL BANK, Bank Of Communications have extended the 10% fee discount until December 31, 2025.

ABC has directly announced that the fund distribution fee discount activity will continue from December 27, 2024, until further notice.

Meanwhile, China Merchants Bank, which was the first to announce a comprehensive 10% fund distribution fee in July 2024, is also launching a full-scale offensive to promote a "good start" in the fund distribution market after the new year.

This time, commercial banks are clearly serious!

MINSHENG BANK launches nearly 500 "10%" funds

According to the announcement from MINSHENG BANK, in order to better serve fund clients, the bank has decided to offer discounts on the transaction fee rates for certain securities investment funds after discussions with relevant fund management companies. The activity period is from January 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025.

During the activity period, investors who subscribe or invest regularly through MINSHENG BANK's counters, online banking, and mobile banking channels for 465 fund products, including the Yinhua CSI A50 ETF Link Fund A and Tianhong CSI Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index Fund A, will receive a 10% discount on subscription and regular investment fees.

Focus on index, commodity, and QDII funds

A closer look at the 465 funds from MINSHENG BANK reveals that most are popular varieties in the market in recent years.

These include index funds, enhanced index funds, commodity funds, QDII equity funds, and QDII alternative investment funds.

Additionally, during the same period, investors who regularly invest in approximately 36 fund products, such as the Fortune Quality Development Mixed Fund and Huashan Media Internet Mixed Fund, through China Minsheng Bank's counters, online banking, and mobile banking channels will enjoy a 10% discount on regular investment fees.

Furthermore, MINSHENG BANK reminds that fund subscription/regular investment fees that are fixed amounts do not enjoy this fee discount. The subscription fee rate only applies to the front-end subscription handling fee of the aforementioned fund products during the normal subscription period and does not include fund transfer fees.

Bank of Qingdao expands discounts to 190 funds

Coincidentally, Bank of Qingdao has also recently announced that it will conduct a phased discount activity on subscription and regular investment handling fees for certain public funds it distributes.

Specifically, individual investors who subscribe to "fee discount funds" through Bank of Qingdao's mobile banking, online banking, and smart outlets will enjoy a discount starting from 10% on the subscription handling fee for fee discount funds.

The fee discount activity will end on March 31, 2025, and any subsequent fee discounts will be announced separately.

The list of fund products attached to the announcement includes over 190 funds.

Bank Of Communications offers discounts throughout the year

More resolute than the previous two is the Bank of Communications.

At the end of last year, the Bank of Communications announced that after consultation with relevant fund management companies, it decided to continue the discount activities for subscription and regular investment handling fees for open-end funds sold by the Bank of Communications from 00:00 on January 1, 2025, to 24:00 on December 31, 2025.

The Bank of Communications also uniquely disclosed a list of products that will not participate in the handling fee discount activities for fund subscriptions and regular investments in 2025, which is about 300 funds. In other words, as long as it is not one of these 300 funds, or for large subscriptions charged on a per-transaction basis, those that meet certain conditions can participate in the fee discount at a 10% rate.

In addition, the Bank of Communications specifically reminded that as of 24:00 on December 31, 2025, all personal pension fund Y shares will participate in the fee discount.

The announcement also reminded that customers who have not received the 10% rights for the fund will not enjoy this fee discount through mobile banking.

Industrial Bank Offers Many and Long Discounts

Industrial Bank also announced at the end of November 2024 that after consultation with relevant fund companies, it decided to carry out a handling fee discount activity for subscription and regular investment for open-end index funds (about 587 funds on the list) sold by Industrial Bank from December 2, 2024, to December 31, 2025.

During the fee discount activity period, individual investors who subscribe to open-end index funds (as listed in the product list) through Industrial Bank's mobile banking, online banking, smart counters, and business outlets will enjoy a 10% discount on the fund subscription handling fee. The original handling fee for index fund subscriptions or regular investments is charged at a fixed cost per transaction and will not participate in this fee discount activity, still charged at the original fixed cost.

From the start of the activity, newly participating index funds in this fee discount will be subject to the handling fee rates announced by the fund company and disclosed through the bank's purchasing channels, and Industrial Bank will not make separate announcements. For index funds exiting this fee discount, Industrial Bank will inform separately, please pay attention to the relevant announcements on the Industrial Bank official website.

Pension Fund Area is Valued

In addition to the aforementioned Bank of Communications achieving full participation in the fee discount for personal pension fund Y shares, Agricultural Bank also separately stated the handling fee discount activity for Y shares.

In December 2024, the Agricultural Bank of China announced that to support the construction of a multi-level and multi-pillar pension insurance system in China, reduce fund holding costs, and optimize customer investment experience, it plans to offer handling fee discounts for the subscription and regular investment transactions of public fund Y shares sold by the bank after consultation with relevant fund managers.

From December 27, 2024, until further notice from the Agricultural Bank, investors purchasing public fund Y shares on the list of discounted products at the Agricultural Bank will enjoy a 10% handling fee for subscriptions and regular investments. The public fund Y shares participating in this fee discount are those included in the CSRC's personal pension fund directory and part of the public funds sold by the Agricultural Bank.

Although the discount activities of various banks mostly have a certain deadline, the broad coverage and long duration of this round of discounts also indicate the determination of the relevant institutions.

This is certainly not a bad thing for fund investors.