Chinese banks diversify large-denomination CDs with customer-specific products

This shift marks a strategic departure from using CDs purely as funding tools toward using them as surgical retention levers. By segmenting rates and minimums by profession or wealth tier, banks are effectively pricing loyalty rather than liquidity, a response to thinning margins that pressures deposit competition. The significance lies in how this fragments the deposit market: it may deepen customer stickiness for some banks while leaving others, especially smaller lenders, to chase costlier, broader funding. What is worth watching is whether this granular pricing becomes a template for other product lines or invites regulatory scrutiny over fairness and access.