The personal gold trading business is facing restrictions from more financial institutions. On March 17, China Minsheng Bank and Postal Savings Bank of China both advised individual clients to promptly complete relevant transactions and close their accounts. Earlier this month, Ping An Bank also announced it would gradually terminate its agency services for individual precious metals trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
Since the fourth quarter of last year, at least 13 banks have successively issued adjustment notices for their agency personal precious metals businesses linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange. These changes primarily involve suspending or halting new position openings and buy orders for related products.
Precious metals trading has become a key area for bank adjustments. On March 17, China Minsheng Bank issued a notice stating that due to violent fluctuations in the precious metals market, it is reminding individual clients who have not yet closed their precious metals accounts to complete the processes of closing out deferred contracts, selling inventories, withdrawing funds, and terminating their agreements as soon as possible. The bank will continue to advance the closure and cancellation of agency precious metals accounts.
This situation stems from announcements made by Minsheng Bank on June 21, 2022, and January 17, 2023. According to those notices, the bank ceased the buy and open position functions for its agency spot and deferred personal precious metals trading business linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange after market close on July 22, 2022. Starting from February 1, 2023, the bank began closing accounts for clients with no spot inventory or deferred holdings. The recent notice is a further reminder for remaining clients to finalize their account closures.
Similarly, on March 17, Postal Savings Bank of China announced it would discontinue its agency personal precious metals trading service for the Shanghai Gold Exchange. The bank stated that if clients have not completed the necessary operations by March 27, 2026, it will forcibly close positions or sell inventories to protect account security and client interests. Funds from such actions will be automatically transferred to the client's linked settlement account.
On March 11, Ping An Bank announced on its official website that it would begin phasing out its agency personal precious metals trading service starting April 1, 2026. The bank also stated that after the close on March 11, the margin ratio for Au (T+D), mAu (T+D), and Ag (T+D) contracts in its agency business was adjusted to 100%.
Ping An Bank's adjustments to this business have been in preparation for some time. Since November 2021, the bank has gradually suspended spot physical buy orders and the opening of new spot deferred positions. Existing clients were instructed to complete necessary operations, including position closing, inventory selling, fund transfers, and service termination, by March 31.
Furthermore, on February 24, Ping An Bank issued a notice indicating that, following relevant notifications from the Shanghai Gold Exchange, it would adjust the margin ratios and price fluctuation limits for gold and silver spot deferred contracts starting from the settlement after market close on February 24, 2026.
A review of announcements from various banks shows that recently, several major state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, and city commercial banks have made varying degrees of adjustments to their agency personal precious metals businesses. The core changes involve shutting down business channels, raising margin ratios, and standardizing the management of existing clients.
An announcement from Industrial Bank on February 3 indicated that, due to business development needs, the bank would close the online banking trading channel for its agency personal precious metals business after February 14, 2026, while counter and mobile banking channels would remain open.
Since September 2025, at least 13 banks have issued adjustment announcements, mainly involving the suspension or cessation of new position openings and buy trades for related products.
In December 2025, ICBC strengthened the management of its agency personal precious metals trading. For clients with no positions, no inventory, no debts, but remaining balances in their margin accounts, the bank began transferring those balances to the linked settlement accounts from December 19 and closed the related business functions.
In the same month, China Construction Bank also advised similar clients to transfer out their margin balances and close their accounts. China CITIC Bank began cleaning up long-dormant accounts (those with only available funds and no positions) in its agency Shanghai Gold Exchange personal trading business from November 7, 2025.
The primary reason for all these changes is the roller-coaster ride of gold prices. On January 29, 2026, international gold prices briefly surged to a historic high above $5,600 per ounce, only to plummet over 12% within the next 30 hours. This extreme volatility caught the market off guard. Banks and gold retailers, as intermediaries connecting investors to the market, bear the brunt of the risk pressure. Recently, with escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, gold has entered a highly volatile phase, with prices briefly falling below $5,000 per ounce during trading.
Banks act as agents for personal precious metals trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, where clients can use leverage through deferred contracts like Au (T+D). Theoretically, banks are merely intermediaries and do not bear market fluctuation risks. However, the problem arises during extreme market conditions with "negative equity"—when client losses exceed their margin, resulting in a negative account balance. As members of the exchange, banks are obligated to advance the shortfall to complete the settlement. This is not charity but a statutory responsibility under exchange rules. Failure to do so could obstruct the entire clearing system.
For example, a client using 100,000 yuan in margin for a 10x leveraged trade holds a position worth 1 million yuan. If the gold price drops 15% in a single day, the loss amounts to 150,000 yuan, exceeding the principal by 50,000 yuan. The bank must first pay this 50,000 yuan to the exchange on behalf of the client and then seek recovery from the client. If the client cannot repay, the bank incurs the loss. During the sharp decline in early 2026, such cases surged, raising concerns about bad debts for banks and triggering a wave of customer complaints.
Agency precious metals deferred trading is a leveraged margin business. Raising the margin requirement to 100% effectively eliminates leverage, meaning investors must pay the full amount for trades. This move helps avoid the risk of margin calls due to price volatility and is a key measure financial institutions are taking to address the current high volatility in gold. Many banks have previously issued risk warnings through official channels, advising clients to carefully assess their risk tolerance, maintain a rational investment approach, and avoid blindly chasing rallies or selling in panic.
Deutsche Bank Research recently published a special report on precious metals, analyzing potential future paths for gold prices and the impact of the recent market correction. Michael Hsueh, a precious metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, reiterated in the report a long-term forecast for gold to reach $6,000 per ounce. The research points out that the asset attributes of gold are changing, with its positive correlation to risk assets increasing. In investment portfolios, gold may now amplify risk rather than solely acting as a hedge.