Should You Put Your Savings in a Chinese Bank Account? WTF For ?

 

 

無用的人民幣帳戶

中國銀行的美國分行於1月中旬宣佈開放美國公民開立人民幣帳戶，然而，開戶者無法以人民幣開立支票、無法提取人民幣、無法以美元 開立支票、無法在北京提款、無法在上海使用金融卡、更無法在香港機場存錢。這使美國人一頭霧水，到底開立這個帳戶做啥呢？


《時代》雜誌網路部落格於2月7日發表卡拉貝爾（Zachary Karabell）的文章〈你應該把錢存在中國銀行嗎？〉Should You Put Your Savings in a Chinese Bank Account?針對中國銀行Bank of China的美國分行於1月中旬宣佈開放美國公民開立人民幣帳戶，卡拉貝爾以親身經驗分析開立此帳戶的優缺點。

人民幣遭非議

卡拉貝爾認為，人民幣因為被低估而且對美國經濟具有負面作用，所以在美國一直受到非議。美國各級官員都批評中共刻意阻止人民幣升值，使中國公 司擁有不公平的競爭優勢，同時加速了美國製造業的工作流失。

針對美方的批評，中共以民族主義捍衛自身，聲稱美國的態度不過是西方試圖阻礙中國發展的另一個例子。中共需要藉由人民幣獲利，以增加中國國內 財富，並減少對多變的外銷市場的依賴。

為什麼開立無法使用的帳戶？

卡拉貝爾曾親自到中國銀行紐約分行洽詢開立帳戶的相關問題。他表示，任何美國人只要存入500美元就可以開戶。

從技術層面來看，這實際是兩種帳戶，一個是美元帳戶，另一個依據官方匯率兌換的人民幣帳戶。不管如何，意思就是你可以藉此擁有你自己的人民幣 帳戶。

卡拉貝爾指出，人民幣目前仍無法自由轉換和買賣，其價值也不會跟著國際貨幣浮動。在中國銀行開立新帳戶無法改變這項事實，因此，這使在美國開 立人民幣帳戶看起來格外奇怪。

此外，這種帳戶無法以人民幣開立支票或提款、也無法以美元開立支票、無法在北京提款、無法在上海使用金融卡、無法在香港機場存款。

事實上，它是完全無法使用的帳戶，那美國人為什麼需要開立這樣的帳戶呢？

卡拉貝爾轉述中國銀行人員的話說，目前美國儲蓄帳戶和貨幣市場的利率幾乎為零，如果人民幣每年升值3％至5％，在中國銀行有這種人民幣帳戶的 人就可以獲取比美國儲蓄帳戶還高的利潤。

然而，此中國銀行帳戶跟傳統儲蓄帳戶不同──它不支付利息。其帳戶金額隨著人民幣起伏，而且中國銀行也不保證人民幣會升值。此外，聯邦存款保 險不擔保人民幣匯兌損失，只有當中國銀行破產，存款戶無法取款時，此保險才會提供賠償。

持有帳戶的風險

《華爾街日報》網路版專欄作家阿倫斯（Brett Arends）於1月14日發表文章〈你需要中國銀行帳戶嗎？〉Do You Need a Chinese Bank Account?開立人民幣帳戶會有什麼風險呢？阿倫斯認為，主要的風險可能是不保證人民幣在不久的未來會大幅升值，所以你的錢可能會套牢很長一段時間。


In the middle of last month, the Bank of China quietly announced a startling new bank account available to America citizens. At one of three Bank of China branches in the United States–two in New York and one in Los Angeles–an American can walk in, open an account and convert their grubby dollars into the currency of the hottest, and arguably the most important, economy in the world, the Chinese renminbi.

To get a better sense of what this is all about, I went to the Bank of China's main branch in Manhattan on 5th Avenue and 48th Street. The branch office is fairly ornate and staid, a study in 1950s elegance. The staff couldn't have been more welcoming, and I was ushered over to a young Chinese-American who walked me through the account process and answered all my questions. The biggest of which was this: Why would anyone do this?

Now, the Chinese renminbi or RMB (the “People's Money”, often referred to as the yuan) has been much maligned in the United States for its low valuation and its harmful effect on the American economy. Official Washington, from President Obama to much of the Congress, have criticized the Chinese government for maintaining an artificially low valuation and purportedly giving Chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage and accelerating the loss of American manufacturing jobs.

The passions stirred are real – and China has reacted to U.S. criticism with its own nationalistic defense, seeing in American attitudes one more example of the West trying to hold China back. But the reality is more ambiguous, especially given that China has been allowing its currency to appreciate after a two-year freeze during the financial crisis and that the U.S. has been shedding manufacturing jobs for decades, long before the current rise of China. In addition, China needs the currency to gain in value to increase its domestic wealth and become less reliant on a fickle export market, but it is loath to under American pressure. The currency war is nothing if not a proxy of overall China-U.S. tensions.

So the unveiling of this new product by the Bank of China came as a surprise, and may have been bigger news were it not for the massive changes sweeping through Tunisia and now Egypt.

The Chinese currency remains unconvertible. It does not float on international exchanges; you cannot trade it, and it does not fluctuate in value based on the same global currency market that determines how many Euros there are to the dollar or how Mexican pesos you get for one Turkish lira. The new bank account does nothing to alter that, which makes opening an account in the United States denominated in RMB that much odder.

Any American citizen can open an account with a minimum of $500. Technically, it is two accounts, one opened in dollars and the other then converted into RMB at the official exchange rate (and $1 currently gets you 6.56 units of Chinese currency).  No matter. The point is this: If you're in New York or LA (and you can only open this account at those branches in person), you can have your very own Chinese currency account.

So should you? To begin with, the very nice Bank of China representative, who talked me to the process, explained that you can't actually do anything with the account.

“Can I write checks in Chinese currency?” I asked.

“No, you cannot.”

“Can I withdraw Chinese currency?”

“No.”

“Can I go to Beijing and withdraw currency from my account there?”

“No.”

“Can I have a debit card and use it in Shanghai?”

“No.”

“Can I deposit currency in my account at the airport in Hong Kong on my way back to the states?”

“No.”

“Can I write checks in dollars?”

“No.”

“So what can I do?”

“You can deposit at minimum of $500 and it will be converted to RMB. If the value of the Chinese currency rises, your dollar account will increase in value. Then you can withdraw dollars. And it is insured by the FDIC.”

“Why would I want to open an account that I can't really use?”

“Well, if the rate on your savings or money market account is barely zero percent and if the Chinese currency appreciates between 3% and 5% a year as it is expected to, then you can have a savings account at the Bank of China that yields you much more than any equivalent domestic American savings account with the same FDIC protection.”

So there you have it: the Bank of China has created a savings account for Americans that has a strong likelihood of significantly outperforming a U.S. savings account. The Chinese have been making cars, solar panels, electronics and furniture that outcompete American alternatives; now they are creating better bank accounts?

Well, that depends on where you think the renminbi is headed. Unlike a typical savings account, the account at the Bank of China pays no interest. The account rises and falls with the RMB. And the Bank of China cannot guarantee that its currency will appreciate. What's more, FDIC insurance doesn't protect you against the possibility that your investment in RMB, which is essentially what you are doing, will lose money. The FDIC insurance only comes into play in the unlikely event of that the Bank of China becomes insolvent, and you unable to withdraw your money.

But all things being equal, I do think there is something to the Bank of China's pitch. US savings accounts pay close nothing these days. And it is in China's national interest to allow the RMB to appreciate at least 3% to 5% a year for the next few years. It enhances the Chinese economy and simultaneously gives a nod to U.S. demands that China revalue. The result is that average investors – or at least those living in or passing through New York or L.A. who happen to know about this rather obscure and arcane account being offered – can open a juiced-up, no-guarantees-but-likely-to-gain-more than-your-average savings account in one of the leading banks of China.

So have the floodgates opened? I was told that demand had been brisk, but no figures are being released and the afternoon I was at the main branch, no one else was there. Maybe it seems to be good to be true, but in this case, maybe not. You could do worse than park $500 in an account insured by the U.S. government tethered to the growth of the domestic Chinese economy.  And the Chinese government could do worse than curry American favor – and attract American dollars – than offering average Americans a chance to enhance their savings care of China's economic miracle. Renminbi savings bonds, here we come.