China P2P lenders given two years to exit industry

CHINA said all existing peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms must become small loan providers within two years, a notice seen by Reuters last Wednesday showed, the latest official edict aimed at curbing the once-booming industry.

All Chinese P2P firms need to clear outstanding loans in less than one year before switching to small loans, according to a notice issued by China’s Internet Financial Risk Special Rectification Work Leadership Team Office, which was launched by Beijing to mitigate risks in the online lending sector.