Financing scale has exceeded 310 billion, and securities firms are densely issuing bonds at the beginning of the year to "replenish funds"

The A-share market is oscillating upward, and as a capital intermediary, brokerage firms’ financing needs are increasingly strong.

On February 4th, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved the company’s registration application for public issuance of corporate bonds to professional investors. Among them, the total face value of bonds with a maturity of over one year in this public issuance will not exceed 20 billion yuan.

Since January 2026, a total of 12 brokerages have obtained bond issuance approval documents, involving corporate bonds, science and technology innovation bonds, and others, with a total approved quota exceeding 300 billion yuan.

Moreover, at the beginning of 2026, a batch of securities company bonds and short-term financing bonds have been densely listed and issued.

Data shows that, by the start date of interest, since the beginning of 2026, 46 brokerages have issued a total of 120 bonds (domestically issued), with a total issuance volume of over 3,168 billion yuan.

Among them, Huatai Securities and Guotai Haitong Securities issued bonds of 35 billion yuan and 34 billion yuan respectively. The issuance scale of CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, CITIC Construction Investment Securities, and China Galaxy Securities also exceeded 20 billion yuan.

The bond issuance wave continues

In 2025, bond issuance by brokerages was vigorous, with total issuance increasing by over 40% year-on-year. At the beginning of 2026, this wave of enthusiasm is still ongoing.

On one hand, the pace of brokerages applying for and obtaining approval for public bond issuance has accelerated.

According to rough estimates by reporters, since January 2026, at least 12 brokerages have received regulatory approval for registration applications to publicly issue bonds to professional investors, including corporate bonds, subordinate corporate bonds, and science and technology innovation bonds.

Among them, several leading brokerages have been approved for issuance quotas exceeding 50 billion yuan.

For example, GF Securities was approved to issue perpetual subordinate corporate bonds with a total face value of no more than 20 billion yuan, and corporate bonds with a total face value of no more than 70 billion yuan (which can be issued in batches within the registration validity period); Shenwan Hongyuan Securities was approved to issue corporate bonds with a total face value of no more than 60 billion yuan; China Galaxy Securities was approved to issue corporate bonds with a total face value of no more than 30 billion yuan, science and technology innovation bonds with a total face value of no more than 5 billion yuan, and subordinate bonds with a total face value of no more than 20 billion yuan.

Overall, as of February 4th, the 12 brokerages mentioned above have a total approved bond issuance quota of 340 billion yuan in 2026.

In fact, under the background of high approval efficiency in previous periods, a small climax of listing and issuance of securities company bonds and short-term financing bonds has recently emerged.

Statistics show that from January 1 to February 4, 2026, 46 brokerages issued a total of 120 domestic bonds, with a total volume of 3,168.4 billion yuan. During this period, total repayments amounted to 941.23 billion yuan, with a net financing of 2,227.17 billion yuan.

Due to the relatively low base last year (the Spring Festival in 2025 coincided with late January to early February, which objectively was not conducive to bond issuance), as of February 4th, the scale of bond issuance by brokerages in 2026 has increased by more than three times year-on-year.

Looking at the situation in 2026, leading brokerages remain the major issuers.

As of February 4th, Huatai Securities and Guotai Haitong Securities have issued 35 billion yuan and 34 billion yuan of bonds respectively since 2026, making them the two largest bond issuers this year; followed by CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, CITIC Construction Investment Securities, and China Galaxy Securities, with issuance scales of 26.8 billion yuan, 24.7 billion yuan, 24.4 billion yuan, and 24 billion yuan respectively.

At the same time, Guosen Securities, Orient Securities, Everbright Securities, CICC, and GF Securities have also issued bonds exceeding 10 billion yuan. Among them, Guosen Securities has a relatively large issuance scale of 14 billion yuan.

Brokerages with bond issuance scales between 5 billion and 10 billion yuan include Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, Guotou Securities, Zheshang Securities, Zhongtai Securities, Industrial Securities, and Great Wall Securities.

Additionally, besides domestic bond financing, since the beginning of 2026, including Huatai Securities, CITIC Construction Investment Securities, and Orient Securities, five companies have issued bonds overseas, with a total issuance volume exceeding 1.5 billion USD.

Debt repayment and liquidity replenishment

According to Tian Lihui, a finance professor at Nankai University, since 2025, the debt financing activities of brokerages have shown three main features: “scale leap, structural refinement, and clear guidance.”

“The bond issuance wave by brokerages is the result of the resonance of market, policy, and strategic logic,” Tian Lihui told reporters. He pointed out that active trading in A-shares has driven the margin financing balance up, and proprietary trading, market-making, and other capital-intensive businesses urgently need to “replenish blood”; currently, the average financing cost of bonds is at a historic low, and brokerages are optimizing debt structures through “new issuance to repay old debt”; combined with the deepening of the comprehensive registration system, policies guiding science and technology innovation bonds, and the quota release at the beginning of the year, leading brokerages are guiding the industry toward a capital intermediary transformation, demonstrating proactive efforts to empower new productive forces in finance.

Some industry insiders also believe that the fundamental purpose of brokerages issuing bonds is to meet the capital needs for liquidity safety and business development, ensuring the safety, stability, and sustainability of business operations.

Specifically, in the bond prospectuses, recent issuers generally mention that the raised funds will be used for debt repayment and working capital supplementation.

Moreover, many brokerages have stipulated the proportion of funds used for capital-consuming businesses in their bond prospectuses.

The prospectus for Guotai Haitong Securities’ 2026 short-term corporate bonds (Phase 1) shows that the issuer commits that no more than 10% of the raised funds will be used for capital-consuming businesses such as margin financing, stock pledges, and derivatives.

It is understood that the proposed issuance scale of Guotai Haitong’s bonds is no more than 10 billion yuan (including 10 billion yuan). The 9 billion yuan of raised funds are planned to be used to supplement liquidity, with the remaining funds intended for debt repayment or exchange of maturing corporate bonds.

CITIC Securities also promised in its 2026 short-term corporate bonds (Phase 1) prospectus that no more than 10% of the raised funds will be used for capital-consuming businesses such as margin financing, stock pledges, and derivatives.

The proposed issuance scale for this bond is no more than 10 billion yuan (including 10 billion yuan). After deducting issuance costs, the funds are planned for liquidity supplementation. However, depending on actual circumstances, some liquidity may be used to repay interest-bearing debt.

H-share refinancing lands

It is worth noting that, alongside bond financing, recently, two leading brokerages’ H-share refinancing has been successfully completed. Both plan to use the raised funds to support the development of their overseas businesses.

On January 7th, GF Securities announced that it plans to raise over 6 billion HKD through a combination of placing new H-shares and issuing H-share convertible bonds.

According to GF Securities, this placement and bond issuance arrangement will help the company expand its international business more deeply, better serve the real economy and cross-border wealth management needs of residents, and fully leverage the functions of securities companies. The proceeds from this placement and bond issuance are intended to be used entirely for capital increases in the company’s overseas subsidiaries, which will help strengthen their capital strength and enhance their risk resistance.

Previously, from May 2024 to January 2025, GF Securities had increased its capital in GF Holdings (Hong Kong) three times.

Industry insiders believe that supplementing capital will open up space for GF Securities’ international business development.

On February 3rd, Huatai Securities announced that it would issue 10 billion HKD of zero-coupon H-shares due 2027 under a general authorization, with a net fundraising amount of 9.925 billion HKD.

“Funds raised from this bond issuance, after deducting issuance costs, will be used for overseas business development and working capital supplementation, helping the company expand its overseas operations, enhance its ability to respond to international market risks and challenges, and improve overall competitiveness,” Huatai Securities stated.

Tian Lihui believes that the current financing environment for brokerages presents a “warm tone, strong differentiation, and favorable guidance.” With ample liquidity and optimized approval processes, channels such as bonds and H-shares are smooth; however, the Matthew effect is prominent, with top brokerages enjoying low-cost funds due to high credit ratings, while small and medium-sized brokerages face pressure. Meanwhile, policies strongly guide funds toward technological innovation and the real economy.

“Brokerages need to seize the window of opportunity, precisely channel capital to key links of high-quality development, and achieve resonance with national strategies,” Tian Lihui said.

(Source: 21st Century Business Herald)