"Currently, fixed deposit interest rates are generally around 1%. After comparing gold-linked structured deposits from several banks, I found the minimum rate can be as low as 1%, but there's a chance to chase excess returns. The lock-up periods are relatively short, making it a good introductory product for investment beginners," a user posted on social media.
Since 2025, gold prices have continued their upward climb. On the afternoon of January 20, 2026, spot gold (London Gold Spot) broke through $4,700 per ounce intraday, setting another historical record high. It has been noted that structured deposit products linked to gold, recently launched by some banks, have garnered significant market attention, with some products offering potential annualized returns as high as 8%. Should investors rush into these products?
Some banks have already sold out of their gold-bullish structured deposits.
A recent check of various bank mobile apps revealed that many banks are issuing structured deposit products.
Bank of China offers several structured deposit products linked to gold. Among them, the "Yueying - Immediate Blessing 260068" has an expected annualized return ranging from 0.2% to 5.2%, requires a minimum deposit of 10,000 yuan, and has a term of 87 days.
The Bank of Communications mobile app shows four "Wen Tian Hui" structured deposit products: Gold Bullish 64-day, Gold Bearish 64-day, Equity Index Bullish 36-day, and Equity Index Bearish 36-day, all with annualized return intervals of 0.5% to 3.20%. The subscription period for all four products was from January 14 to 20. When checked around 2 PM on January 16, the Gold Bullish 64-day structured deposit was already marked as "sold out," while the others still had availability.
The product说明书 indicates an upper limit of 10 billion yuan for the product scale. If the actual funds raised during the subscription period reach this上限, the bank reserves the right to end sales early. The bank may adjust the product scale based on market and product operational conditions.
According to China Minsheng Bank's mobile app, the bank has launched over ten structured deposit products linked to gold. Taking "London Gold Bullish Ternary" as an example, this product had a subscription period from January 16 to 20, a term of 97 days, a minimum investment of 5,000 yuan, and reference annualized returns of either 0.5%, 3.15%, or 3.55%.
The Jiangsu Bank mobile app displays two structured deposit products, both linked to gold, with expected returns of 1%, 1.89%, or 2.09%. These products require a minimum deposit of 10,000 yuan and have a 6-month term.
Foreign banks have also launched numerous gold-linked structured deposit products. For instance, Standard Chartered's Wealth Management WeChat official account showed that from January 16 to 27, the bank issued four non-principal-protected structured deposits, one of which is linked to the Global Gold Mining Theme (USD denomination). Promotional material indicates this product carries a risk level of 4, offers 90% principal protection at maturity, has a 12-month investment term, a minimum subscription amount of $80,000, and a maturity annualized return ranging from 0% to 8%. If the maturity annualized return is 0%, investors may incur a loss of principal.
Corporate structured deposits account for nearly seventy percent of the total.
According to data disclosed by the People's Bank of China on January 15, 2026, as of the end of December 2025, the outstanding balance of structured deposits at large and medium-sized Chinese banks was 4.25 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.01%.
Specifically, as of end-December 2025, corporate structured deposits constituted 69.49% of the total structured deposit balance, while personal structured deposits accounted for approximately 30.51%. By institution type, structured deposits at medium-sized and small Chinese banks made up 66.96% of the total balance, while those at large Chinese banks accounted for about 33.04%.
Based on incomplete statistics, as of January 19, since the start of 2026, over a hundred A-share listed companies have announced using idle funds to purchase structured deposit products.
For example, on January 15, Suzhou Jiao Tong Group Co., Ltd. (JSTL Group) announced that it recently used 90 million yuan of idle own funds to purchase a structured deposit from Hua Xia Bank's Nanjing branch. This product is linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange's AU9999 gold spot price, has a 364-day term, and an expected annualized return of 0.30% to 2.35%.
On January 13, Yixintang Pharmacy Group Co., Ltd. (Yixintang) announced that it recently signed "Structured Deposit Product Contracts" with China Guangfa Bank's Kunming Wanhong sub-branch and Hua Xia Bank's Kunming Hongta sub-branch. Among these, it subscribed to a product from Guangfa Bank called "Wu Hua Tian Bao" Series G, 2026 Issue 44 Customized Edition RMB Structured Deposit (Linked to Gold Spot Bullish Step-Up) (Kunming Branch), with a subscription amount of 50 million yuan. The product's expected return rate is 0.5%, 2.02%, or 2.1%.
Yang Haiping, a special researcher for the Beijing Wealth Management Association, analyzed that structured deposit products combine the advantages of both deposits and wealth management products. On one hand, the degree of principal protection for structured deposits is relatively good; on the other hand, the return performance of structured deposits is generally better than that of ordinary deposits. Against the backdrop of持续 pressure on deposit rates, these advantages make the value of structured deposits in personal asset allocation more prominent.
Analyzing the reasons for the popularity of gold-linked structured products, Yang Haiping stated, first, safe-haven demand and inflation-hedging properties are driving持续 strong sales of gold, allowing gold-linked structured deposits to capture market红利 from gold price movements; second, amid the downward trend in deposit rates, some investors are actively seeking alternatives to ordinary deposit products.
Industry insiders note that returns are subject to volatility.
"Structured deposits are products based on ordinary deposits, embedded with financial derivatives (such as forwards, options, futures, etc.). By linking their returns to the fluctuations of interest rates, exchange rates, indices, or the credit status of an entity, they enable depositors to potentially obtain higher returns while bearing certain risks," pointed out an article published by China Zheshang Bank's Fixed Income Department in July 2025.
Yang Haiping explained that categorized by their underlying link, structured deposit products mainly include: interest rate/ exchange rate-linked, commodity-linked, and equity index-linked. Interest rate/ exchange rate-linked structured deposits suit relatively conservative investors; commodity-linked ones suit investors with anti-inflation needs; equity index-linked products suit investors with a stronger tolerance for market volatility.
Can structured deposits achieve their highest expected returns? It has been noted that most structured deposit products indicate principal protection, but some are non-principal-protected. Furthermore, many banks explicitly state on the purchase pages for structured deposits that "structured deposits are different from general deposits, carry investment risks, and you should fully understand the investment risks and invest cautiously."
The China Merchants Bank app shows 15 structured wealth management products linked to gold, most of which display historical performance. Taking "Dianjin Bullish Three-Tier Range Weekly Deposit" as an example, this product has a 7-day term, a minimum deposit of 10,000 yuan, and an expected maturity annual interest rate of 1%, 1.28%, or 1.48%. Based on the distribution of historical product returns, the percentages achieving low, medium, and high returns were 4.14%, 89.44%, and 6.42%, respectively.
Yang Haiping further pointed out that when investing in gold-linked structured deposit products, investors need to pay attention to the following risk points: First, the yield of gold-linked structured deposits is volatile alongside fluctuations in gold prices; second, it's necessary to specifically analyze the product terms and fully understand that the degree of principal protection varies among different products; third, attention must be paid to the term structure to ensure it aligns with one's own liquidity requirements.
Comments