At the seventh annual Golden Pixiu Bancassurance Cooperation and Development Forum, the opening address offered a blend of industry reflection and forward-looking strategy, setting the stage for deeper discussions among attendees.
On September 22, 2026, the forum, themed "The Posture of Attack and Defense, Harmonizing with the World," convened at the Beijing Jingdu Xinyuan Hotel. This year's event, organized by the forum's hosts, marked another milestone in the sector's ongoing evolution.
The backdrop for this year's discussions was set in March, when the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued a notice further detailing fee management for bank agency channels, taking effect on July 1. This directive, often referred to as Document 65, has propelled the industry into a phase of comprehensive cost regulation, compelling a reevaluation of long-standing operational tactics.
Seven Years of Transformation
The forum's president opened his remarks by referencing an ancient poem on the virtue of patience, noting that seven years is sufficient time to witness a complete industry cycle. Over this period, the bancassurance channel has experienced rapid expansion, painful adjustments, and a recurring two-to-three-year market rhythm, gradually shifting its focus from scale and resources to value and capability.
Expressing gratitude to regulators, association leaders, bank and insurance executives, and frontline staff, he credited their support for the forum's growing recognition and resilience. The theme for this year, "The Posture of Attack and Defense, Harmonizing with the World," was chosen to reflect a fundamental shift in the sector's underlying business logic, moving away from tactics reliant on channel resources and product yield expectations toward a more rules-based and sustainable approach.
Drawing on the Taoist concept of blending one's light with the world's dust, he reinterpreted it for the modern bancassurance context as a call for mutual achievement over ineffective rivalry and long-termism over short-term gains. True harmony, he argued, does not eliminate competition or difference but rather encourages banks and insurers to find their optimal positions and deploy their strengths where they can create enduring value. The central question now, he posed, is determining which business models and capabilities will survive and thrive under the new regulatory framework.
Diverging Fortunes and Shifting Foundations
The implementation of Document 65, coupled with a reduction in dividend insurance demonstration rates to 3.5%, signals the true arrival of a value-driven era in bancassurance. The new directive expands fee management to include bank commissions, staff incentives, training, and fixed cost allocation, reinforcing accountability under the 'report-act-same' principle. The old playbook of heavy expense outlays, high-yield projections, and scale expansion is rendered obsolete.
Market data from the first half of the year illustrates a clear divergence among major insurers. Some, like China Life, saw growth in bancassurance premiums, while others, such as New China Life and CPIC, experienced contractions. Industry-wide, bancassurance single premiums for major players saw a significant year-on-year increase, yet monthly data from July showed a dramatic 60% drop in new bancassurance premiums for 79 life insurers, with some smaller companies facing declines exceeding 80%.
Interpreting this adjustment as a period of short-term pain with long-term benefits, the speaker pointed to the resilience of value-based operations. Despite the downturn, some insurers have posted strong growth in new bancassurance premium income, and executives at leading firms universally affirm that the channel's importance remains intact, evolving from a "scale engine" into a "value engine."
The deeper shift lies in the foundational logic for both parties in the partnership. For banks, bancassurance is transforming from a tool for adjusting intermediary fee income into a core component of retail wealth management, crucial for retaining clients in a low-interest-rate environment. For insurers, the focus is moving away from fee-driven competition toward a return to the core principles of wealth management.
Defining New Benchmarks for Sustainable Growth
The speaker emphasized that financial cycle judgments have tangible impacts on business operations and even solvency, particularly for smaller institutions. He argued that after two decades of relative ease, the industry must pivot from seeking macro-level profits to concentrating on micro-level operational excellence. He outlined five new coordinates for cross-cycle development.
The first coordinate is to stabilize scale while establishing value as the cornerstone. While bancassurance premium income has maintained some growth, the recent sharp monthly declines are not isolated fluctuations but a concentrated manifestation of an outdated growth model entering a correction phase. The real measure of success will be the enduring value of premiums sold, with regular premiums, rather than one-time ones, serving as the true test of client engagement and product alignment.
The second coordinate focuses on retaining capability as fees recede, necessitating a reshaping of distribution channels and teams. With less room for fee maneuvering, the competitive battleground is shifting from simply acquiring branches to deepening the quality of operations within those branches. The example of a leading insurer growing its short-term premium income alongside an increase in cooperative bank branches illustrates this shift toward building a stable, professional, and deeply integrated channel network.
The third coordinate is expanding from a single policy to a lifetime of engagement, particularly in elderly care and health services. With an aging population, the demand for integrated solutions encompassing pension, long-term care, and medical services is rising. By synergizing their respective strengths, banks and insurers can transform a simple insurance policy into an entry point for a comprehensive service ecosystem. The success of a major insurer's retirement community initiative, which generated significant bancassurance premiums, demonstrates that service itself can become a powerful business driver.
The fourth coordinate is a move from selling products to providing holistic wealth allocation advice. In the current low-yield environment, clients face complex decisions about asset allocation. The focus is shifting from simple rates of return to strategic questions of capital placement, liquidity, protection, and long-term appreciation. Even where premium volumes have seen challenges, revenue can grow, indicating that deep client management can unlock greater value than transactional sales.
The fifth and final coordinate is the pursuit of professionalism and differentiation, a matter of survival for small and medium-sized insurers. New regulatory standards on product suitability and agent tiering require a higher level of expertise. The performance of dividend insurance products, with a significant percentage failing to meet their demonstrated rates, underscores that clients will ultimately judge companies on their long-term investment capabilities and ability to meet obligations. While many institutions pursue similar strategies, the path need not be identical; some are successfully building a differentiated bancassurance model by rejecting purely fee-driven approaches and focusing on high new business value margins.
Charting the Course Toward a Value-Based Era
Viewing the current experience on a longer timeline reveals not merely a downturn but a conversion of growth models. The industry is moving from competing for resources, scale, and expenses to competing through client, branch, and team management, ultimately aiming for value creation. The "attack" phase involves pursuing value creation, professional depth, and service excellence, while the "defense" phase entails upholding compliance, client trust, team stability, and long-term patience.
Citing ancient military wisdom, the speaker underscored the strategic importance of both solid defense and agile offense. He re-envisioned "harmonizing with the world" as a form of collaborative intelligence, where banks and insurers combine their respective lights to illuminate a farther horizon. This win-win approach, he concluded, is the path toward a new era of value-driven bancassurance.
In closing, he extended early Mid-Autumn Festival wishes to all attendees and expressed sincere gratitude on behalf of the organizers for their presence and support.
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