Financial Times: China’s central bank intends to take control of Ant Group’s consumer credit data

China’s central bank wants Ant Group to hand over its consumer credit data to a government-controlled credit scoring company, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, in the latest move by Beijing authorities to crack down on Jack Ma’s financial group.

The credit scoring company, which would be run by a former top central bank official, would also serve other financial institutions that compete with Ant’s lending business, the report said.

However, people familiar with the matter said the Ant group insisted on leading the new company itself, citing “too much government interference would drag down the entire industry. But people with knowledge of the bank’s thinking said it believed it would create a conflict of interest.