On May 13, mainland Chinese netizens took to social media to complain about their experiences extracting gold bars from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). According to the video shared by the netizens, they encountered discrepancies between the steel stamp numbers and the delivery notes on three out of four occasions. This video reignited people’s attention on the gold being sold by ICBC.
A report by “China Observer Net” on May 14 revealed that a netizen from China expressed in a video that the gold bars purchased from ICBC repeatedly showed inconsistent steel stamp numbers with the records on the delivery notes. For instance, the manufacturer of the Aspiring Gold Accumulation product was China Gold in one instance, while another batch was from China Banknote Great Wall. What raised suspicions further was that the bank staff manually filled in the correct steel stamp number on the delivery note after discovering the issue but refused to stamp it with a personal seal, making the modification lack traceable written confirmation.
ICBC has yet to publicly respond to this latest controversy.
The steel stamp number serves as an important traceability identifier for gold products. If it does not match the delivery notes, it could potentially impact subsequent pledging, repurchase, or judicial appraisal, leading to ownership disputes.
In response, industry experts stated that physical gold sold by banks generally comes with an appraisal certificate. If there are inconsistencies in the steel stamp management by ICBC, even if the gold itself is qualified, it could lead to disputes in subsequent circulation, especially when it involves mortgage financing or judicial seizures. This incident serves as a reminder to investors to verify the steel stamp number and inspection marks on the spot when extracting gold bars, and to request comprehensive written confirmation from the bank to avoid future disputes.
Prior to this, on May 7, a Chinese netizen disclosed on social media that their friend’s gold bar purchased from the South Xiang branch, which falls under the Nanxiang branch of the ICBC in Jiading, Shanghai, was suspected of being “counterfeit.” When their friend tried to exchange the unopened gold bar, bought from the branch, for jewelry at a gold shop, it was cut open and found to contain black impurities inside. This incident quickly stirred up a storm on social media.