What’s new: China’s central bank is considering licensing a company partly owned by fintech giant Ant Group Co. Ltd. to engage in personal credit reporting.
On Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it had received an application from Qiantang Credit to get into the business, according to an official statement (link in Chinese).
The Zhejiang province-based company’s largest shareholders will be billionaire Jack Ma-owned Ant Group and state-owned Zhejiang Tourism Investment Group Co. Ltd., each with a 35% stake. Another local state-owned enterprise, Hangzhou Finance And Investment Group Co. Ltd., will hold a 6.5% stake.
Qiantang Credit’s registered capital is set at 1 billion yuan ($157 million).
The context: Personal credit reporting agencies record individuals’ dealings with financial institutions. The credit data are used by lenders to review customers’ creditworthiness.
If the PBOC approves the application, Qiantang Credit will be the third company licensed to provide such services in China. The other two are Pudao Credit Co. Ltd. and Baihang Credit Co. Ltd. Baihang Credit was founded in 2018 to collect information from lending channels outside the traditional financial system such as online lending.
The PBOC also runs its own credit reporting system, the Credit Reference Center, which primarily pools data from banks and other traditional lenders.
Related
In Depth: China’s Regulatory Wave Hits the Credit Reporting Industry
In Depth: The Rectification and Remaking of Ant Group
Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
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