Consumer Finance Regulations Tighten in China
Written by Ashleigh Fernandez || October 18 2017It was reported on September 20th 2017 that 17 companies involved in the consumer finance sector had a net profit of 974 million Yuan for the first half of 2017, which was approximately the total net profit for all of 2016. This explosive growth has caused growing concerns amongst regulators who are considering ways to implement a crackdown on the industry.
Artificial Intelligence looks set to step up its game to disrupt financial services
Written by Giorgio Milki || October 11 2017The Financial services sector is integrating AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning and predictive analytics at a remarkable rate for both customer-facing and back-end operations. One element commonly associated with AI, but one that has not yet made a strong impact, are ‘chatbots,’ computer programs designed to simulate conversation with human users. However, this could be about to change, with large financial institutions starting to experiment and launch products leveraging AI technology.
Contemplating a fiat cryptocurrency for India
Written by Anshuman Jaswal || October 10 2017The Indian central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering the possibility of introducing a fiat cryptocurrency in the country.
Wechat's Loan platform is already on-par with some of the biggest banks in China
Written by Felix Yang || September 07 2017In August this year, WeBank announced that its lending product “Wei Li Dai” (WeChat Loan) has exceeded RMB100 billion (USD14.7 billion).
Is Xinlian the answer to the Individual Credit Checking System in China?
Written by Felix Yang || August 25 2017An efficient credit checking system is critical for the development of retail financial services. But in China, the individual credit system is not as advanced as the ones in US or Europe with the People's Bank of China (PBOC) credit system covering only about 25% of the entire Chinese population. The lack of credit investigation system creates a major issue for the risk control process of the financial services, especially on the inclusive finance side.
P2P Lending Models in China Getting a Makeover
Written by Diego Castillo || August 22 2017
China has been at the vanguard lately when it comes to p2p lending, and even though there has been new-found focus on the risk of p2p and the creation of the Fintech Committee meant to regulate Fintech in China, companies keep developing and implementing new models that are cutting edge and in process of revitalizing markets that have barely been touched due to their inherent risk, and in the process of doing so, they have come up with successful business models that have excellent prospects of development.
China's Private Commercial Banks like MyBank and WeBank have a ways to go
Written by Leilei Wang || August 17 2017Opening a completely private commercial bank with no government ownership is not a suitable choice in every country. In some countries, like the US, private commercial banks play an important role in their economy and provide loans to small and medium enterprises. However, in Indonesia, the government allowed private commercial banks in the 1980s and it turned out to be a failure. Founders used the banks as a tool to collect money, and invested in real estate in order to profit, at the cost of a serious economic bubble.
Will Ganzhou's new regulatory sandbox dictate the future of Fintech in China?
Written by Leilei Wang || August 07 2017
China Fintech has been developing rapidly. According to an EY report, in 2016, China's fintech industry attracted US$8.58 billion in investment, the highest in the world. However, while the UK's fintech regulatory sandbox became a case-study for governments globally including Singapore and Australia, there is still a big blank in China. For example, China's P2P industry developed without any regulation since it started in 2007. The government only started monitoring the industry in 2016, after serious criminal cases which caused social panic happened.
The Nexus between traditional banking and FinTech in China
Written by Kapronasia || July 24 2017Recently, there has been a rise in Chinese internet giants investing or collaborating with banks. This year alone, some of China’s largest internet companies – Baidu, Ant Financial, Jingdong Finance, and Tencent – formed strategic partnerships with some of China’s biggest banks. All these companies, while being competitors, have risen to be at the forefront of the FinTech movement in China in recent years. Therefore, collaborating and partnering with these powerful banks give the companies a head-start in this developing market.
Race to the top: Lufax in Singapore
Written by Kapronasia || July 21 2017
Asia is the heart of the rapidly growing FinTech movement. Singapore is one of the countries in the region vying for the top spot as Asia’s FinTech hub. With Singapore constantly getting closer to being the industry’s hub in Asia, it is not surprising that there is competition from other regions within Asia – particularly Hong Kong.
Chinese Regulators Inch Towards ICOs
Written by Thomas Yan || July 13 2017While no official steps have yet been taken, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in Beijing has raised the possibility of a regulatory sandbox environment for future ICOs as the government works through its options for potential regulations, focusing on providing a legal framework for Initial Coin Offerings in China (ICOs) moving forward. In addition, options such as investor education, project review, and increased information disclosure have been mentioned as targets for a new framework. The PBOC’s previous emphasis on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols are also expected to continue with ICO regulations. Other potential regulatory possibilities include requiring companies to have a working product before their ICO, requiring more information disclosure including risk and investor assessments, and reducing speculative investments.
Why Asia matters for ICOs
Written by Tom Yan || July 10 2017In the second of our ICO series, we look at the role that Asia plays in Initial Coin Offerings.
Will Regtech be the solution for China's challenges?
Written by Tom Yan || June 08 2017As China's FinTech industry, led by Tencent and Alibaba, has exploded in recent years, regulators have been watching the industry’s growth carefully, in order to manage risk and protect consumers while still encouraging growth and innovation. In May 2017, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank and main regulator, announced the creation of a FinTech committee under the PBOC’s Technology Department to research the impact of the sector on financial markets and China’s monetary policy. In addition, the committee will also act as a coordinating body for the PBOC, as well as research and promote the implementation of regulatory technology (RegTech).
Optimizing the Market: Alibaba’s investment in Hong Kong's Qupital
Written by Siobhan Faloughi || June 05 2017
There is a large financing gap in the Hong Kong market, particularly for SMEs who have become increasingly frustrated with the lack of available financing. Thus, it was not a shock when Alibaba – the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate – invested $2 million into Qupital, a Hong Kong based online platform that allows mainly SMEs raise finance against their receivables by connecting them with professional investors and family offices.
After nearly two years, China's Digital Credit Rating platforms are still unlicensed...
Written by Leilei Wang || May 23 2017There is a big blank space on individual credit scoring in China. The national individual credit reporting system was founded in 2005 by the Credit Reference Center, a part of the People's Bank of China (PBOC). But at the end of 2015, only 870 million individuals were included in the database, and only 370 million people’ credit history was in the system, covering just 26% of the whole population. On Jan 5th 2015, the Chinese government authorized 8 companies to prepare their own personal credit scoring platforms. One of them, Sesame Credit, is owned by Ant Finance and is the largest platform, but remains unlicensed.
Do tighter controls for Yu'ebao signal an end to Ant Financial's popular digital wealth management product growth?
Written by Felix Yang || May 19 2017Yu’E Bao, the world’s largest money-market fund, may have to limit its individual investment amount at RMB500,000 (USD$72464), which is half of the amount the limit is now. The implications aren't for certain at this point, but it could mean the end of the platform's growth in the future.
India Post Payment Bank: Using technology as a force multiplier to serve the masses
Written by Anshuman Jaswal || April 26 2017As the Indian economy grows rapidly, there is an opportunity to bring ever larger number of Indians into the banking mainstream through both public and private banks.
India’s growing e-commerce industry attracts more Chinese investment, this time from Tencent, but is it the right investment model?
Written by Leilei Wang || April 21 2017A press announcement on April 10th 2017 showed that Tencent, a Chinese online giant, led an investment in India’s electronic commerce company Flipkart, alongside eBay and Microsoft. The total amount was $1.4 billion and Tencent contributed $700 million, eBay $500 million and Microsoft $200 million. This was the first investment for Tencent into India’s e-commerce market. But the question remains, will it be a good move for the company?
Will China's Panda bonds make lunch of Dim Sum Bonds in 2017?
Written by Anton Marusenko || March 09 2017In the last year, Panda bonds (the name of mainland RMB denominated bonds from a non-domestic issuer) have become increasingly competitive and attractive for investors. What explains the increased usage of inland bonds in contrast to slightly diminishing performance of the Dim Sum (RMB denominated bond issued abroad)? How do we define the current interrelationship of the two. And what is in store for the future of the Chinese bond market?
A Changing Climate for Banks in China
Written by Felix Yang || March 06 2017Nothing is easy in the banking industry, and it's getting tougher in China. The Chinese central bank (PBOC) used to control banks’ lending and deposit interest rate by setting high and low limits, as the top line and bottom line in the chart. If a bank in China can always lend/borrow at the limit rates, the margin would not change much over the years. However, the story is not that simple.
Will Consumer Finance be the next fintech focus for China?
Written by Felix Yang || February 28 2017Over the past year, China's Consumer Finance industry has been attracting a significant amount of attention. It may be the next hot spot for financial development in China.
Scaling back Dodd-Frank and the impact on Asian financial services
Written by Anshuman Jaswal || February 07 2017The new US President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to roll back, and possibly repeal, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. This will have wide-reaching repercussions for Asia.
New opportunity for foreign banks in China: consumer finance companies
Written by Grace Tang, Denis Suslov || January 26 2017China’s consumer finance industry is booming amid the rising level of consumption among the Chinese Millennials group, a population representing nearly one-third of China’s whole population. The scale of the industry has been pushed to RMB 107.72 billion by total asset value by September last year, almost doubling the scale of RMB 51 billion in 2015.
Mo’Jie, the Chinese Capricorn who does wealth management
Written by Felix Yang || January 24 2017
December 6th, 2016 China Merchants Bank (CMB) held its press conference in Shen’Zhen, China, for its new AI wealth management product: MachineGene Investment, or “Mo’Jie” in Chinese. The launch represented the first time a Chinese bank released a wealth management product based on AI/Robot technology.
The effect of Demonetization in India and the role for Anti-Money Laundering Systems
Written by Kapronasia || January 02 2017The recent move by the Indian Government to ban the old Rupees 500 and 1000 notes has created turbulence far beyond what was imagined and planned for. The intent was laudable, as the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to curb growing corruption in the economy. However, the lack of preparation on part of the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the commercial banks has meant that the citizens have been left in the lurch.
FICO and Zestfinance in China: different approaches, for the same goal
Written by Denis Suslov || December 08 2016Recent announcements in the personal credit scoring market in China show that both global established giants and smaller, but cutting-edge companies are carving out niche markets for themselves in the country.
New Classification Management Rule for Personal Bank Accounts in China
Written by Felix Yang || December 06 2016Since December 1st, China’s Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), has implemented a new Classification Management Rule for Personal Bank Accounts in China. It divides individuals’ bank accounts into three categories: 1. the main account, 2. the wallet for everyday use and 3. the 'coin purse'.
How Singapore is catalyzing fintech growth: Lessons from the China Fintech executive tour to the Singapore Fintech Festival
Written by Denis Suslov || November 24 2016As part of our China Fintech initiative, we brought a group of Chinese executives to Singapore for the Fintech Festival and a number of company visits. The 17 fintech executives from some of China's largest P2P lenders, consumer finance groups and digital payments platforms were part of the group.
Thoughts from the Singapore Fintech Festival
Written by Zennon Kapron || November 21 2016The Singapore Fintech Festival concluded on Friday November 18th, much like it started, with a bang. At the beginning of the week it was the Monetary Authority of Singapore laying out its vision for the future of fintech, while the closing party consisted of drums, music and a celebratory finish to a hectic week of innovation center visits, conferences, meetings, openings, drinks, awards ceremonies, more drinks and a general celebration of Fintech in Singapore.
China's Fintech Companies top the list
Written by Felix Yang || November 04 2016KPMG and H2 Ventures, an Australian Fintech ventural capital company, have issued their report on the 2016 Top 100 Global Fintech Companies. Amongst many of the key findings in the report, it is clear that China Fintech is in the lead.
More...
A New Round of Government Control on China's Internet Finance Industry
Written by Felix Yang || October 19 2016Last week, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), who are collectively known in China as the “Yi Hang San Hui” (one central bank, three commissions), have issued four major implementation plans around Internet finance. The plans are aimed at reducing risk and further issues in the internet finance industry. Although the regulations will mean tighter controls around internet finance and fintech development in China, it should result in a more healthy environment for the industry in the future.
HNA Group's technology arm collaborates with global credit information provider CRIF
Written by Denis Suslov || October 15 2016On October 14, HNA Usolv, a cross-border trade solutions provider under the brand of HNA Group, signed a cooperation agreement with CRIF, one of the leading European credit information companies.
RBI aiming at new inclusive finance development with PBs and SFBs
Written by Felix Yang || October 10 2016On Oct 6th, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the operating guidelines for Payment Banks (PBs) and Small Finance Banks (SFBs).
Sibos Geneva 2016 Wrap-up
Written by Zennon Kapron || October 06 2016
Although it was only a week ago, Sibos 2016 already seems like a distant memory with most of the world (with the exception of the Chinese who are still in the midst of the October holiday) back to work. Hosted in Geneva, the conference didn't disappoint. The week was packed with meetings, panels, discussions, and presentations.