China is prompting Chinese online giants such as Ant Group, Tencent and Jingdong Group to provide their consumer lending data to the government in a bid to tighten regulations in the financial sector, according to information obtained exclusively by Reuters.
Reuters noted that if the plan is implemented, it would end years of Beijing’s laissez-faire approach to the sector.
Chinese regulators, led by the central bank, are planning to make major Internet platforms provide loan data to national credit agencies to adequately assess risk and avoid over-lending, while the agencies will also share the data with other banks and lenders, the sources said.
The report notes that the initiative was launched against the backdrop that the Chinese government is currently concerned that the banking sector, especially smaller banks, is lending too loosely to consumers and finding loan customers through platforms such as Ant.
The report argues that the initiative will hit the credit business of these online platforms to varying degrees.
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