On June 15, 2026, Chinese media outlet 21st Century Business Herald reported that a "deposit migration" is occurring in China, where individual deposits are rapidly declining due to low interest rates, and massive funds are moving to non-bank financial institutions.

The article stated that according to data from the People's Bank of China, individual deposits decreased by a total of 2.05 trillion yuan (approximately 49 trillion yen) in April and May this year, making it the largest two-month consecutive decline in the past decade. Meanwhile, deposits in non-bank financial institutions, represented by wealth management products, investment trusts, and insurance, saw a significant increase of 3.61 trillion yuan (approximately 86 trillion yen).

Furthermore, it introduced a case where a retired teacher from Shanghai switched most of her matured fixed deposits to fixed-income wealth management products and savings-type insurance due to a significant drop in interest rates. It also cited Zeng Gang (ツェン・ガン), Deputy Director of the National Institution for Finance & Development, who analyzed that this is "the result of two converging forces: a large volume of high-interest deposits maturing simultaneously, and the interest rates for re-depositing falling to historical lows."

It further noted that the posted interest rate for 3-year fixed deposits at major state-owned banks has dropped from 2.6-2.8% in 2023 to 1.25% at the beginning of this year, creating a significant psychological gap and interest rate differential.

The article also explained that while the previous two-month consecutive decline in individual deposits in April-May 2015 was a single capital inflow during a stock market surge, the current situation exhibits characteristics of "diversification and lower risk," with funds flowing mainly from risk-averse middle-aged and elderly people into fixed-income products such as bank wealth management products, Money Market Funds (MMF), bond-type investment trusts, and savings-type insurance.

On the other hand, it pointed out that the movement of funds to non-bank deposits is testing the liability management capabilities of commercial banks. To alleviate the pressure of shrinking interest margins, more than 10 private banks have successively adjusted liability costs through changes in the content of 3-year and 5-year fixed deposit products, sales suspensions, and interest rate inversions. It concluded by stating that Deputy Director Zeng proposed three countermeasures for banks: accelerating the transformation to asset management businesses, optimizing liability structures, and deepening comprehensive services for customers. (Edited/Translated by Kawajiri)