Western: Financial product network marketing has entered a new era of compliance, with licensed banks expected to continue to gain advantages.

Western released a research report stating that the "Regulations on the Management of Financial Product Online Marketing" have been issued. This new regulation will have a profound impact on banks' retail business, and the growth logic of future bank retail business may become more endogenous and refined. On the one hand, online traffic generation and conversion will be tightened, leading to a potential slowdown in channel expansion in the short term. On the other hand, stricter supervision of financial product online marketing may push banks to focus more on matching real customer needs and long-term customer management, driving the growth of retail business through increased service stickiness and cross-selling. Key points from Western are as follows: Event: On April 24th, the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and eight other departments jointly issued the "Regulations on the Management of Financial Product Online Marketing" ("Regulations"), establishing a comprehensive regulatory system covering the qualifications of financial product online marketing entities, constraints on marketing activities, and compliance boundaries for institutional cooperation. The core of the regulation lies in strengthening the responsibility of financial institutions and clarifying the position of third-party Internet platforms as "technical intermediaries." This marks a step towards a unified standard for financial product online marketing, and the Regulations will come into effect on September 30, 2026. Reshaping channel rules, banks' retail customer acquisition and operation systems may be redesigned: The Regulations will bring all categories of financial products, such as deposits, loans, insurance, precious metals, and payment services, under unified regulation for online marketing activities. It also requires that online traffic generated for financial products must be redirected to the financial institution's own platform, with third-party internet platforms only able to participate as technical intermediaries. Some distribution models that heavily relied on top internet platforms for sales in the past may be hindered in the future. However, this shift may guide banks' retail business towards a transformation from being "platform-driven" to "self-operated channels + refined operations." While the efficiency of retail customer acquisition may face pressure in the short term, the quality of customer groups is expected to improve in the medium to long term. Stricter marketing supervision is conducive to promoting the return of banks' wealth management business to its essence: The Regulations prohibit the use of inducive language such as "low risk," "low threshold," and "instant withdrawal" in the marketing process. They require strict categorization display for different types of financial products and regulate the performance display and sorting methods for financial products to eliminate phenomena like bundled marketing, inducive installment consumption, and irrational investment. With these measures in place, growth in banks' wealth management business may increasingly rely on the real returns of products and their suitability for customers, overall contributing to the return of banks' wealth management business to its core function of entrusted management. Reshaping competition dynamics, the advantage of leading licensed banks is expected to continue to expand: Following the implementation of the Regulations, licensed institutions such as banks may further enhance their credit premiums in terms of brand and compliance, strengthening their dominant position in financial product marketing. Additionally, strict supervision may pressure banks to enhance customer segmentation, advisory services, and data filtration and governance capabilities, shifting the competition focus from the ability to monetize traffic to the institution's comprehensive marketing capabilities. The advantage of leading licensed banks is expected to continue to grow. Risk warning: macroeconomic risks, policy risks, market risks.