CITIC Securities announced on February 26 that it has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to issue corporate bonds with a total face value of no more than 80 billion yuan to professional investors. The approval is valid for 24 months from the date of registration, allowing the company to issue the bonds in phases based on operational needs during this period.
As the leading securities firm, CITIC Securities' bond issuance approval has drawn significant attention. With this approval, CITIC Securities becomes the listed brokerage with the highest single approved bond issuance amount since the beginning of the year.
This event reflects the broader trend of increased bond issuance within the securities industry since 2026. Wind data shows that as of February 27, corporate bond issuance in the securities sector this year has reached 344.99 billion yuan across 123 issuances. The pace of approvals for brokerages has also accelerated noticeably. Besides CITIC Securities, over ten other listed brokerages have received approval for bond issuances.
CITIC Securities stated that its board of directors and management will implement the bond issuance in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and the approval, based on the authorization from the company's 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders.
Financially, as capital markets recover, CITIC Securities has been steadily increasing leverage through 2025. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company's bonds payable saw a slight decrease to 132.765 billion yuan from 142.547 billion yuan at the end of 2024, a drop of 6.86%. However, short-term financing payables increased significantly to 81.145 billion yuan from 42.711 billion yuan at the end of ͏2024, a sharp rise of 89.98%.
Furthermore, in September 2025, CITIC Securities also announced receiving regulatory approval to issue corporate bonds to professional investors, with an approved amount of no more than 60 billion yuan and a term not exceeding 24 months. The recent approval for an additional 20 billion yuan, coming less than six months later, indicates the company's continued process of increasing leverage.
As an industry leader, CITIC Securities' bond issuance activities are indicative of the sustained wave of debt financing in the securities sector since 2025. Wind data, calculated by issue start date, shows that 77 securities companies issued a total of 1,004 domestic bonds in 2025, with a total value of 1.89 trillion yuan. Compared to the same period in 2024, this represents an increase of 529.358 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of nearly 40%. Entering 2026, with the A-share market experiencing volatile upward movement and trading activity remaining high, brokerages, acting as capital intermediaries, have seen growing financing needs. Coupled with historically low market interest rates and improved regulatory approval efficiency, bond issuance by brokerages continues to show distinct characteristics of "increasing scale and accelerating pace." As of February 27, corporate bond issuance in the securities industry this year has reached 344.99 billion yuan across 123 issuances.
Low financing costs are a key reason for brokerages' enthusiasm for bond issuance. Among the 123 bonds issued by securities firms since the start of 2026, 90 have an annual coupon rate below 2%. The cost of short-term financing bills can be even lower. For example, GF Securities' "26 GF D2" issued in February 2026, with a total issuance of 6 billion yuan, a term of 362 days, had a coupon rate of just 1.69%.
Besides CITIC Securities, approvals for multiple other brokerages have been granted intensively. According to incomplete statistics, including CITIC Securities' 80 billion yuan approval, the total approved bond issuance amount for the securities industry since 2026 has exceeded 300 billion yuan. Leading brokerages are set to be the main force for potential future issuances. For instance, on January 13, Shenwan Hongyuan received approval to issue corporate bonds of up to 60 billion yuan; on January 19, GF Securities was approved to issue perpetual subordinated corporate bonds of up to 20 billion yuan; and on January 23, GF Securities again received approval for corporate bonds of up to 70 billion yuan. The密集落地 of these approvals has essentially "stockpiled ammunition" for future bond financing by brokerages.
Generally, the primary uses of bond financing for brokerages are concentrated in two areas: repaying short-term debt and supplementing working capital. Short-term financing bills are often used to supplement working capital, while ordinary corporate bonds are primarily for repaying maturing bonds and supplementing working capital. Subordinated bonds and similar instruments are frequently used to replenish capital.
It is worth noting that with increased demand for businesses like margin trading following improved market conditions, several brokerages have specified proportions of funds raised to be used for capital-consuming businesses in their bond prospectuses. However, not all funds raised through bond issuance are allocated to capital-consuming activities; in most cases, only a portion is designated for such purposes.
The prospectus for Guotai Junan Securities' 2026 short-term corporate bonds (First Tranche) targeted at professional investors states that the issuer承诺 that no more than 10% of the funds used to supplement working capital will be allocated to capital-consuming businesses such as margin financing, stock pledges, and derivatives. The planned issuance size for this tranche is no more than 10 billion yuan (inclusive). Of the raised funds, 9 billion yuan is intended to supplement working capital, with the remainder used to repay or refinance the principal of maturing corporate bonds.
CITIC Securities also承诺 in its 2026 short-term corporate bond (First Tranche) prospectus that no more than 10% of the funds used to supplement working capital will be allocated to capital-consuming businesses like margin financing, stock pledges, and derivatives. The planned issuance size for this tranche is no more than 10 billion yuan (inclusive). After deducting issuance costs, the raised funds are intended to supplement working capital. However, based on actual changing circumstances, a portion of the working capital may be adjusted in the future to repay interest-bearing debt.