Wealth Managers Deny Reports of Limits on Investing in Consumer Finance ABS

Several trust companies and wealth management firms said their business was operating normally amid market rumors that regulators planned to restrict wealth management funds from investing in consumer finance ABS products issued by trust companies. According to Jin10, multiple trust company sources said they had not received any clear regulatory document, but they generally felt that compliance requirements were continuing to tighten. An executive at one trust company said that although there had been no formal signal, compliance thresholds in day-to-day operations for consumer finance trust business had risen noticeably, and institutions were proactively reducing scale mainly due to risk considerations. The executive added that if such business were to be reduced or restricted in the future, institutions hoped for a buffer period to avoid negative market feedback caused by abrupt shifts in expectations. Another trust company said it had previously conducted an internal risk review of its consumer finance business. On the wealth management side, several firms told reporters they had not received any notice. A person at a joint-stock bank wealth management firm said that there had been many rumors earlier, but there had been no substantive action so far and the relevant business was still being carried out normally.