As losses mount for Chinese bank customers who bought speculative financial products linked to crude oil futures, the six banks who allow clients to bet on commodity prices are trying to stem the fallout by suspending new investments, reported Caixin.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), the country’s biggest commercial lender, is the latest to announce its stopped customers from opening new positions in products linked to commodity futures, not just crude oil, but also soybean, natural gas and copper. The Beijing-based bank, which was the first to offer such financial products back in 2013, issued a statement late Monday that new positions would be suspended from Tuesday in order to protect investors from potential losses, although customers would still be able to close existing positions.
The other five banks who offer such products –– Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China Minsheng Banking –– had already announced similar suspensions.
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