Enable Dynamic Trading Limits State-owned Major Banks Upgrade Precious Metals Business Risk Control

Our reporter Peng Yan

Recently, the precious metals market has experienced significant fluctuations, prompting many banks to strengthen risk management for precious metals businesses.

On the evening of March 3rd, China Construction Bank announced that to further improve risk prevention, it will implement dynamic trading limits for CCB Gold (including Easy Deposit Gold) starting March 4th. At the same time, the bank is extending physical precious metal delivery times: due to the rapid increase in physical gold purchases recently, from March 3, 2026, customer orders for delivery will have a shipping time extended from 10 to 15 business days after the order is placed (no shipments on holidays).

Notably, this move by China Construction Bank indicates that, following ICBC, another state-owned major bank has officially upgraded its risk controls for precious metals.

It is understood that previously, banks mainly used static thresholds, such as increasing minimum purchase amounts, to manage risks in precious metals businesses. Earlier this year, the industry began exploring more flexible “dynamic limit” management models.

On January 30th, ICBC was the first to announce adjustments to the rules for its Ruyi Gold Savings and some branded physical gold products, specifying limits on transactions for the Ruyi Gold Savings business. ICBC stated that starting February 7, 2026, on weekends and legal holidays—non-trading days for the Shanghai Gold Exchange—the bank will implement limits on the Ruyi Gold Savings business, including total or single-client daily deposit/withdrawal caps, and limits on individual deposit or withdrawal amounts, with dynamic adjustments. The gold purchase process remains unaffected.

It is worth noting that shifting from static thresholds to dynamic limits has become a core feature of this round of risk control upgrades in banks’ precious metals businesses.

Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, told Securities Daily that the consecutive implementation of dynamic limits by ICBC and China Construction Bank mainly aims to address potential systemic risks caused by extreme fluctuations in international gold prices. This adjustment directly responds to the increasingly volatile environment of the precious metals market. The deeper reason is that traditional static risk controls are no longer suitable for high-frequency market fluctuations. Banks need to shift from passive responses to proactive interventions by dynamically adjusting trading limits to prevent concentrated trading risks caused by investors chasing gains or cutting losses.

Yang Haiping, a researcher at the Shanghai Financial and Legal Research Institute, told Securities Daily that the shift from static risk controls to dynamic limits allows banks to respond promptly to extreme market conditions. By reflecting actual market fluctuations, this upgrade from passive defense to active adjustment significantly enhances the ability to help clients manage risks and prevent risks to the banks’ own businesses.

Additionally, several banks have launched a “combo” approach to risk management. On one hand, many banks have issued risk alerts to guide investors to participate rationally. On March 2nd, ICBC, China Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank, and China Everbright Bank issued risk warnings, advising investors to stay alert to market changes and strengthen risk prevention.

On the other hand, many banks are tightening trading rules to further “de-leverage.” For example, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank have raised the margin requirement for individual clients’ Shanghai Gold Exchange deferred contracts to 100%, canceling related trading leverage to strengthen risk control.

According to Xue Hongyan, this tightening is directly related to the recent sharp fluctuations in gold prices and increased market trading activity. “Currently, international gold prices are at historic highs, market sentiment has shifted from safe-haven to speculation, trading is crowded, and irrational behaviors like chasing gains and cutting losses are increasing. Banks’ measures such as dynamic limits and margin increases are essentially aimed at guiding overheated market sentiment reasonably and preventing chain risks that could be triggered by sharp price corrections.”