From a high of over 6,000 peer-to-peer lenders, Chinese regulator efforts to crackdown on the now fallen sector have resulted in the closure of more than 99 percent of the industry’s players.
Just 29 P2P lenders remain in the market, according to Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) in an interview with state-owned «CCTV».
P2P lending surged since 2012 as means for cash-hungry small businesses in China to access loans by accessing capital by mostly retail investors lured by the promise of yields as high as 15 percent.
But since 2016, regulators have been cracking down on the industry due to growing scams including, most notably, the Ezubao Ponzi scheme involving over $9 billion and 900,000 investors.
Tracking Lost Money
Guo called the crackdown successful thus far, adding that CBIRC would still keep its guard up moving forward and also try its best to retrieve unfair losses.
«We’ll assist public security authorities to track down the money even if there is only a glimmer of hope,» he said. «The goal is to repay depositors as much money as possible.»
