In 2026, banks began to refuse customers' "mindless gold purchases."

In the opening drama of 2026, gold continues to take center stage. However, this time, banks seem to want to "dissuade" ordinary retail investors to the audience seats.

At the beginning of the month, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China updated its risk warning regarding personal accumulation gold business, with the core content directly pointing to the risk level: the risk rating of accumulation gold products has been officially solidified as R3 (balanced).

This means that those conservative (R2) clients who used to treat accumulation gold as "forced savings" or "spare change investment" will lose their eligibility to enter in 2026.

Some joint-stock banks and city commercial banks are moving faster than state-owned banks.

In June 2025, Bank of Ningbo and CITIC Bank successively issued similar announcements: Bank of Ningbo clearly stated that conservative and balanced clients cannot purchase accumulation gold or fixed deposits, while CITIC Bank limited related business clients to C3-balanced and above.

The logic of the banks is very realistic.

The super bull market in gold that started in 2024 has extended to 2026, with gold prices continuously rising, but the intensity of fluctuations at high levels is no longer comparable to the past, with "flash crashes" of more than 3% occurring four times in the past year.

For banks, the commission earned from selling accumulation gold is at stake. If they bear a large number of "sales misrepresentation" complaints from low-risk preference clients during high price fluctuations, it is obviously a losing deal.

However, while closing the door, banks have quietly opened another window, with many foreign banks, joint-stock banks, and city commercial banks launching a new ace for "good start"—gold-linked structured deposits.

For example, DBS Bank's "DBS Prosperity Wealth Management" has launched a bullish gold-themed structured deposit with a term of 12 months, offering annualized returns of 1.5% and 4%, with a minimum subscription amount of USD 10,000;

HSBC China has introduced structured deposits linked to mining companies, with a risk level of 2, starting from USD 20,000, a term of 3 years, an annualized coupon of 4.5%, a trigger level of 103%, and a minimum return rate of 0.1%;

China Merchants Bank has issued 15 gold-linked structured deposits in 2026, with terms ranging from 7 days to 90 days, expected annualized rates of return from 1% to 1.78%, and minimum investment amounts ranging from CNY 10,000 to CNY 300,000;

Jiangsu Bank has also launched gold-linked structured deposit products, with minimum investment amounts of CNY 10,000 for deposits of 3-6 months.

From the bank's perspective, this is a "deposit-raising artifact." Accumulation gold funds are off-balance sheet and can be redeemed at any time, while structured deposit funds are on-balance sheet and have a closed period of stable liabilities.

As the interest margin defense battle enters a fever pitch in 2026, banks urgently need this type of low-cost funding that can be locked in for 3 months or even half a year. Using "capital protection" and "potential high interest" to retain funds that are turned away by accumulation gold is the most desirable situation for the bank's asset-liability department.

From the client's perspective, this is the antidote to "acrophobia." Faced with high gold prices, retail investors are hesitant to heavily invest in rising prices and unwilling to miss out by staying out of the market. The safety net provided by structured deposits perfectly absorbs this overflow of risk-averse sentiment It can be observed that the landscape of banks' gold business is being restructured:

For aggressive (R3 and above) investors, banks offer gold accumulation, ETFs, and even precious metal deferred trading, providing opportunities to fight through the storms; for conservative (R2) investors, banks have closed the door to direct trading and guided clients into the "greenhouse" of structured deposits.

This is both a pressure of compliance and a commercial calculation. The wild era of gold investment may have come to an end.

The market has risks, and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investment based on this is at one's own risk