Gold investment risks intensify as a leading bank adjusts its trading parameters. On March 21, China Merchants Bank issued a notice regarding the adjustment of spreads for its gold account business. Due to recent heightened volatility in the gold market, to mitigate associated risks, effective from March 23, the bank will adjust the bid-ask spread for gold account transactions at the same quotation point to 5 yuan per gram. Specifically, the spread on the buy side will increase by 2 yuan per gram, while the spread on the sell side will remain unchanged. This adjusted spread scheme is expected to be in effect until June 27. Starting from the market open on June 29, the bid and ask spreads for the gold account business at the same quotation point will be adjusted to 2.5 yuan per gram respectively.

As of March 22, Beijing time, the spot price of London gold fell below the $4,500 per ounce mark, closing at $4,491.67 per ounce, marking a weekly decline of 10.49%. Data indicates this is the largest weekly drop since March 1983.

Inquiries confirmed that the adjustment will indeed take effect after 9:10 AM on March 23. The bank stated the change is due to significantly increased volatility in gold prices recently, necessitating a comprehensive response to market changes, covering operational costs, and ensuring transaction security.

What is a spread? Industry insiders explain that when investors purchase accumulated gold from a bank, they typically see two prices: the buying price (the price at which you buy from the bank) and the selling price (the price at which you sell to the bank). The difference between these two prices is the 'spread'.

Specifically, if the interface for China Merchants Bank's gold account business displays a price of 1,000 yuan per gram, before the rule adjustment, the customer's purchase price at that same point would be 1,000 yuan per gram, and the selling price would be 997 yuan per gram, resulting in a spread of 3 yuan per gram. After the rule adjustment, at the same point, the customer's purchase price becomes 1,002 yuan per gram, while the selling price remains at 997 yuan per gram, making the spread 5 yuan per gram.

An industry analyst pointed out that China Merchants Bank's adjustment of the accumulated gold spread is a restructuring of transaction costs and risk management against the backdrop of intensified gold price fluctuations. Expanding the spread to 5 yuan per gram increases the friction cost per transaction and significantly raises the profitability threshold for short-term swing trading.

"This move not only guides investors away from 'quick-in, quick-out' strategies towards long-term holding by increasing transaction resistance, thereby calming market speculation, but also secures more certain intermediary business income for the bank during volatile markets to cover liquidity and hedging costs," the analyst stated.

This is not the only bank recently modifying its accumulated gold trading rules. On March 3, China Construction Bank announced it would implement dynamic transaction limit management on its gold products to enhance risk prevention and control.

At the end of February, China Zheshang Bank announced that if the gold market experiences significant abnormal price fluctuations, liquidity drying up, or a significant decline in trading capacity, it might implement temporary market closures for its wealth gold accumulation business.

In January, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China announced that starting February 7, on weekends and legal holidays when the Shanghai Gold Exchange is closed, it would impose limit management on its如意金accumulated gold business. Limit types include daily accumulation/redemption caps for all or single clients, and caps on single transaction volumes, set dynamically, while physical gold withdrawal remains unaffected.

Industry insiders indicate that these adjustments send a clear signal to investors: the attribute of accumulated gold as a short-term trading tool is weakening.

A chief economist commented that such measures are to address potential systemic risks brought by extreme gold price volatility. Banks' risk control thinking is shifting from "static defense" to "dynamic game theory," also reflecting that the positioning of accumulated gold products is undergoing recalibration: transitioning from a low-threshold "savings substitute" in the past to an "investment product" that requires matching corresponding risk tolerance.

"If investors still choose to participate, they need to acknowledge the erosion of returns by transaction costs and refocus on the long-term logic of asset allocation or physical accumulation," the analyst added.