The first batch of savings bonds "difficult to obtain," with steady demand for prudent allocation continuing to rise

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Ye Maishui

On March 10th, the first batch of 2026 savings government bonds (certificated) was issued, and the “sold out instantly” phenomenon reoccurred. Many bank branches in Guangzhou reported being sold out. An employee at a state-owned major bank told reporters that this was the first batch of savings government bonds this year. Some investors enthusiastic about bonds had experienced a few months of “dry spell” previously, so their subscription enthusiasm was relatively higher. Especially with long-term fixed deposit products becoming increasingly scarce, the 5-year savings government bonds are notably more popular. However, overall, the customer base remains mainly middle-aged and elderly. The “hard to get” situation of savings government bonds also reflects the current low-interest-rate environment and the ongoing asset shortage that remains unresolved.

5-Year Government Bonds Are More Popular

According to an announcement issued by the Ministry of Finance on March 5th, the first and second issuance periods for 2026 savings government bonds (certificated) are from March 10th to 19th. Both are fixed-rate, fixed-term products. The first batch has a 3-year term with an annual coupon rate of 1.63%, and a maximum issuance of 15 billion yuan; the second batch has a 5-year term with an annual coupon rate of 1.7%, and a maximum issuance of 15 billion yuan.

Although the coupon rates of 1.63% and 1.70% are about 30 basis points lower than those in the same period in 2025, they remain quite attractive in the current low-interest environment.

According to notices from the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance, these two batches of bonds are underwritten by the 2024–2026 savings government bond syndicate, which includes 40 banks such as state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, city commercial banks, and rural commercial banks, with a fixed distribution ratio.

Unlike electronic savings bonds that can be purchased via mobile banking and other online channels, certificated savings bonds can only be purchased at bank branches. From visits and inquiries in Guangzhou, the situation is similar across different banks—whether state-owned, joint-stock, or rural banks, they are basically “sold out instantly.”

An employee at a state-owned bank branch said that they were sold out by the morning of March 10th. The main buyers were elderly residents nearby, and the quota was exhausted as soon as the branch opened. Due to limited quotas, some regular customers are notified in advance. According to relevant regulations, an individual can purchase no more than 1 million yuan of a single issuance of savings government bonds (certificated).

A staff member at a rural commercial bank in Guangzhou also said that savings bonds have been “out of stock” for three months. Once a new batch is released, they are “hard to get,” as the bank’s allocated quota is limited, and each branch has even fewer. They are sold out immediately at opening.

Compared to the 3-year products, the 5-year products are more popular. First, because there are few long-term savings products on the market—large-denomination fixed deposits or savings deposits of 5 years are scarce. Second, the interest rate for 5-year government bonds is more attractive; the current mainstream 3-year fixed deposit rate is 1.55%, while the 5-year fixed deposit rate is only 1.3%, a difference of 8 basis points, whereas the difference between the two is 40 basis points. Third, liquidity remains ample, and the trend of further interest rate cuts and reserve requirement reductions continues. Under this scenario, deposit rates may decline further, so locking in longer-term government bonds early is equivalent to locking in returns.

However, investors should be reminded that although savings government bonds are attractive, early redemption involves certain interest losses.

According to relevant notices, if investors need to access funds urgently and redeem early, they will incur handling fees, and the interest will be significantly reduced.

The specific rules are: no interest paid for holding less than half a year; 0.35% interest for holding between half a year and one year; 0.4% for one to two years; 1.12% for two to three years.

For the 5-year bonds, holding between three and four years yields only 1.52%, and between four and five years, 1.63%.

Bank Wealth Management Adjusts Performance Benchmarks Downward

The “hard to get” situation of savings government bonds also reflects the current asset shortage in the wealth management market, where bank wealth management yields are declining along with interest rate cuts and reserve requirement reductions. According to the “China Banking Wealth Management Market Annual Report (2025)” issued by the Banking Wealth Management Registration and Custody Center, as of the end of 2025, the bank wealth management market’s outstanding scale was 33.29 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.15% from the beginning of the year, reaching a new level. In terms of returns, in 2025, wealth management products generated a total profit of 730.3 billion yuan for investors, up 2.87% from 2024. Of this, wealth management companies contributed 617.1 billion yuan. The average yield of wealth management products in 2025 was 1.98%, down 0.67 percentage points from 2024.

However, due to multiple interest rate cuts in 2025, the market expects the yields of wealth management products this year to continue declining. Recent signs include institutions like Pudong Bank Wealth Management, Ping An Bank, and Shanghai United Wealth Management announcing adjustments to their product performance benchmarks, with some benchmarks lowered by over 100 basis points, and the lower limit generally below 2%.

According to Tonghuashun statistics, as of March 11th, 1,923 bank wealth management products had adjusted their performance benchmarks, with 30 announcements on March 11 alone.

Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank announced on March 11th that it would adjust the benchmark for the “Tongxin Wealth Management - Zhenyuan Jin Nian Nian Ying” product from 2.30%–3.05% to 2.15%–3.00%, a reduction of 5 to 15 basis points.

Pudong Bank Wealth Management also announced that the annualized interest rate for the “Pudong Wealth Weekly Stable Fund (WeBank Exclusive)” Class A shares would be lowered from 1.4% to 1.3%, effective March 12, 2026.

Regarding the reasons for adjustments, Pudong Bank Wealth Management stated that the performance benchmark is calculated by the product manager based on the product’s investment scope, strategy, asset allocation plan, and market conditions. As a fixed-income product with a bond asset allocation of at least 80%, and with duration controlled within five years, the benchmark is based on current market interest rates and the static yield of investable bonds, after deducting fees.

Minsheng Wealth Management’s “Gui Zhu Fixed Income Enhancement Two-Year Open-Ended 2” product’s benchmark was sharply lowered from 4%–6% to 2.6%–3.1%, a maximum reduction of nearly 50%.

From February 3, 2026, the benchmark for the “Agricultural Bank of China - Lingdong 7-Day RMB Wealth Management (Corporate Only)” was adjusted from 2.20%–3.20% (annualized) to 1.70%–2.20%, a decrease of 100 basis points at the upper limit.

Additionally, the “Agricultural Bank of China - Progress • Two-Year Open” value-selected RMB wealth management product’s benchmark was adjusted from 3.40%–4.55% (annualized) to 2.20%–3.00% (annualized), starting from the closed period beginning March 11, 2026. The upper limit was lowered by 155 basis points, and the lower limit by 120 basis points.

On January 22, 2026, the benchmark for the “Hengfeng Wealth Management - Hengyou One and a Half Year Fixed Open 2021 No. 1” product was adjusted to the one-year deposit rate published by the People’s Bank of China plus 0.85%, i.e., 2.35%. Previously, the benchmark was between 4.25% and 4.75%, a significant decrease.

Páipái.com Wealth Public Fund Product Operations Director Fang Fang believes that the recent downward adjustments in benchmarks are due to two main reasons: one, significant reductions mainly affect long-term insurance products maturing in three or five years, as market interest rates have been high previously but have been lowered multiple times in recent years, leading to a decline in benchmarks; two, the yields of underlying assets like bonds and deposits have generally fallen, making it harder for wealth management products to achieve expected returns. Additionally, declining bond yields and stock market volatility increase the challenge of generating absolute returns on assets.