At a critical juncture marking the conclusion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan and the planning phase for the 15th, the wealth management sector is transitioning from scale expansion to quality enhancement. As a core engine of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and a pilot demonstration zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics, Shenzhen is one of the cities with the highest concentration of high-net-worth individuals, most active capital flows, and most forward-looking policy pilots in China.
In an exclusive interview, Li Wenfeng, Deputy President of Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd.'s Shenzhen Branch, shared insights on industry trends and development prospects for 2026. Since September 2024, continuous policy support has boosted capital market activity, reigniting discussions about the phenomenon of deposit migration.
"The current deposit migration isn't short-term market fluctuation but represents household wealth reallocation driven by three factors: low interest rates, capital market recovery, and maturing excess savings," stated Li Wenfeng. He observed that this phenomenon is gradually deepening, with Shenzhen progressing faster than the national average. Rather than viewing this as a crisis of deposit outflow, Li emphasized it presents an opportunity for wealth management upgrading.
Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd. will undergo comprehensive transformation from a savings-focused institution to a wealth management bank, leveraging professional capabilities, technological empowerment, and cross-border advantages to provide superior wealth management services for Shenzhen's high-net-worth clients.
Li attributed the deposit migration to the capital market's renewed vitality coinciding with a crucial window for rebalancing household asset allocation. This trend resonates strongly with Shenzhen's client characteristics of youth orientation, high net worth, and tech-finance focus, demonstrating large scale, rapid pace, and diverse flow directions.
He predicted the deposit migration will persist due to low interest rates, asset shortages, and policy support, though its pace and scale will fluctuate with market conditions, economic recovery, and changes in risk appetite. While clients' risk tolerance is marginally improving, many retail investors still seek products offering high absolute returns with low relative volatility, creating a practical mismatch between expectations and reality.
From the branch perspective, this situation tests professional capabilities and client trust, potentially increasing complaint rates and client attrition short-term. However, long-term, this mismatch forces institutions to transition from product selling to asset allocation and client companionship. Calibrating client expectations and matching asset combinations through professional expertise can build deeper client trust and create competitive differentiation, particularly valuable in Shenzhen's high-net-worth concentrated market.
Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd.'s Shenzhen Branch will adhere to product suitability principles, developing "Shenzhen-specific portfolios" for different client segments while strengthening investor appropriateness management. The strategy focuses on fixed-income foundations enhanced with localized assets to balance stability and growth, avoiding single-product mismatches. This includes creating customized asset management products for the Shenzhen branch.
The branch will enhance risk assessment and early warning systems using big data and quantitative models for real-time market monitoring, providing risk alerts and response recommendations. Dedicated relationship managers will offer timely responses, customized investment strategies, and wealth management solutions, combining professional products with exclusive benefits to improve service quality and client satisfaction.
Shenzhen's wealth management clients show trends of diversification, youth orientation, and specialization, with high-net-worth individuals leading the market while younger clients and mass affluent segments contribute growth. Family succession and institutional investor needs coexist, collectively driving the market toward comprehensive and customized development.
Based on these changes, Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd.'s Shenzhen Branch focuses on achieving three transformations: shifting to client-centric operations; adopting streamlined processes guided by investment research, precise client targeting, optimal product selection, and team implementation; and transitioning to advisory sales models centered on asset allocation.
Since 2019, the branch has prioritized wealth management business development under its retail transformation strategy, initially establishing a tiered client service system. This involves deepening client segment operations, making continuous tiered client management the core focus. The branch has established mass market, Gold Osmanthus, Fu Jia, and Ding Fu client tiers with differentiated service teams, products, non-financial services, and management strategies for each level.
The product framework for wealth management clients is essentially complete. Through resource integration and cross-department collaboration with fund, insurance, and trust partners, the branch expands service boundaries, transitioning from single-product sales to asset allocation. This creates a diversified model combining wealth management, asset allocation, and value-added services, supported by a dual-core驱动 model of private banking centers and remote investment advisors for full-process professional service.
Digital technology enables deeper understanding of client wealth management needs, with mobile banking apps becoming the primary platform for tiered client management. This digital transformation enhances the branch's wealth management capabilities while continuously improving operational efficiency and client experience.
By the end of 2025, Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd.'s Shenzhen Branch had established one private banking center and five wealth centers, forming preliminary exclusive service venues for mid-to-high-end clients. The branch's wealth management intermediary business income increased by 23.7% annually.
For 2026布局, Li Wenfeng stated the branch will focus on helping clients "make money," using investment research capabilities as the engine, product shelves as the tool, collaborative resources as the advantage, and innovative mechanisms as the driver to build differentiated wealth management competitiveness.
This includes deeply integrating financial services into key client scenarios: focusing on investment and quality consumption for youth, health management and wealth inheritance for elderly clients, and comprehensive corporate-personal financial services for entrepreneurs and merchants. Differentiated experiences will be created through specialized services: investor education for youth, recreational communities for elderly clients, and resource platforms for entrepreneurs.
Comprehensive services will achieve value deepening through bundled financial offerings, enhancing client management efficiency and comprehensive value contribution. For specific products, the branch will promote Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd. Wealth Management's industry-leading evening trading sessions and medium-to-long-term products, developing competitive flagship offerings.
In asset management, the branch will promote Postal Savings Bank of China Co.,Ltd. Securities' "Ding" series private trust products and customize stable-performing regional specialized products. For fund business, market analysis capabilities will be enhanced under headquarters' guidance, with continuous selection of top-performing products and targeted marketing for VIP and wealth management clients without fund holdings.
Insurance business will focus on promoting online insurance products to普及 insurance concepts, addressing high-net-worth clients' wealth inheritance needs through insurance trusts and family trusts. Precious metals business will emphasize investment-oriented products like Postal Savings gold and gold accumulation plans, raising client investment awareness through distinctive design, low processing fees, and IP collaborations to cover diverse client segments.