ICBC to shut down personal bidding on SGE in July; multiple banks to clear existing holdings this year

June 24, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China issued an announcement stating that, starting from the end-of-day settlement on July 24, 2026, it will suspend agency Shanghai Gold Exchange individual precious metals bidding transactions (including spot and deferred delivery contracts). The affected varieties include Au99.99, Au100g, Au99.95, PGC30g, Au(T+D), mAu(T+D), Ag(T+D), Au(T+N1), Au(T+N2), etc. According to the arrangement, after the end-of-day settlement on July 24 is completed, ICBC will close the relevant transaction permissions on channels such as mobile banking, online banking, and branch counters at an appropriate time. After closure, customers holding positions will face restrictions on closing positions, selling, and delivery operations. ICBC reminds customers holding stock positions to complete selling, closing positions, or delivery by the deadline, and to withdraw remaining funds from their margin accounts. For customers with no positions, no inventory, and no debts, the remaining funds in their accounts will be batch withdrawn uniformly afterwards. This is not an isolated case. Since the beginning of this year, many banks have gradually promoted the exit from agency SGE individual precious metals trading business. For example, Postal Savings Bank announced on February 11, suspended on March 13 at midnight, and uncompleted operations were forcibly closed at midnight on March 27. Ping An Bank announced on March 10 that, starting April 1, closures would proceed in stages. On June 10, a supplementary announcement stated spot contract transaction permissions would be closed after settlement on June 30. GF Bank announced on June 22 that it intends to suspend comprehensively at the end of June. The deadline for self-operation is June 25 at 15:30. Overdue positions will be forcibly closed by the bank. From suspending new customer account opening, restricting buying and opening positions, to requiring existing customers to close positions and cancel accounts within a deadline, banks have moved from risk compression to clearing existing holdings in this business. The immediate background is increased volatility in the precious metals market. Recently, gold and silver prices have fluctuated sharply. The margin ratios for related deferred contracts have been significantly raised by many banks, such as GF Bank has adjusted the margin ratio to 140%, setting a new high in the industry. In this business, deferred delivery contracts such as Au(T+D) and Ag(T+D) involve margin trading attributes. Price fluctuations magnify investors' gains and losses. For ordinary individual customers, lacking hedging tools and professional trading skills, the risks of holding positions are more easily exposed. For commercial banks, although agency individual precious metals trading is not proprietary trading, customer access, fund transfers, margin management, and risk reminders are all handled through bank channels. Once the market fluctuates drastically, banks need to take on customer suitability management, complaint handling, and reputation risk. Clearing out highly volatile, high-leverage business aligns with the trend of shrinking retail finance risk boundaries. However, this does not mean banks exit the precious metals market. What’s being compressed are stronger trading attributes like agency bidding and deferred contracts, while physical gold, savings gold, and gold ETFs and other allocation products will still have space. Compared to high-frequency trading and leveraged contracts, these products are closer to long-term asset allocation and are more easily incorporated into banks' wealth management systems. For investors, the most important thing now is to pay attention to the suspension time, closing arrangement, and withdrawal path mentioned in the announcements of their account-opening banks. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market carries risks, and investment needs caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not consider the special investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article fit their particular situation. Invest accordingly, at your own risk.