(Reuters) China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platforms still have more than 800 billion yuan ($115 billion) unpaid to investors and their numbers have shrunk to just 29 across the country, the head of China’s banking and insurance regulator said on Friday.
A regulatory crackdown amid a deleveraging campaign on risky investments led to a collapse of the sector that had thrived in previous years by attracting retail investors with higher-than-usual returns. At one time, there were around 6,000 platforms.
“As long as there is a slim chance of hope, we will work with police and other departments to chase the money back,” the regulator chief, Guo Shuqing, told state television in an interview.
Source: Reuters; Reporting by Yawen Chen, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue
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