The money lending industry has a long history in Hong Kong。According to the definition of Hong Kong’s Money Lenders Ordinance，"Money lender" means any person who carries on the business of money lending or advertises or claims or in any way represents that he is engaged in such business。As of the end of November 2010，There are 624 licensed money lenders in Hong Kong，154 companies applied for license renewal，32 companies are applying for licenses，2106 licenses expired，94 applications were rejected，214 companies withdrew their applications。
Hong Kong money lenders do not accept deposits from the public，Only engaged in money lending business，Mainly include：personal and business credit；mortgage；car、office equipment、heavy machinery、Factory leasing；Credit card financing、promissory note discount；Small and medium enterprise loans；mortgage loan；Syndicated loans, etc.。Recently，The author conducted a survey on the relevant situation of professional money lending institutions in Hong Kong.，I would like to introduce it here and hope to provide some inspiration to related industries in the Mainland.。
Hong Kong's special legislation for professional money lending institutions - the "Money Lenders Ordinance". In December 1980, Hong Kong promulgated the "Money Lenders Ordinance"，divided into 5 parts，36strip。Part one：Registrar of Money Lenders and His Supervisory Functions、Confidentiality, etc.。part two：Restrictions on carrying on business as a moneylender、License application、License validity period、License revocation and suspension、License transfer。
part three：moneylender's deal，including agreement form、Money lender’s duty to provide information to borrowers、Money lender’s duty to provide information to guarantor、Borrower repays early、Illegal agreements, etc.。Part 4：Prohibition on excessive interest rates；Part 5：Restrictions on money lending advertising、Registrar and police investigative powers、Penalties and Disqualifications、Burden of proof, etc.。(1) To operate money lending business in Hong Kong, you must obtain a license，The police play a decisive role in the issuance of license plates。
Lending to unspecified majority in Hong Kong without any relationship with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority，Need a license。In accordance with the provisions of the Money Lenders Ordinance，Anyone operating a money lending business in Hong Kong must obtain a money lender's license，License management is at the Government Companies Registry。Because money lending is a special industry，So the registration office will go to the police station (police station) to check the background.，The police play a decisive role in issuance of license plates。The license is valid for 12 months，The license must be renewed when it expires。
The Money Lenders Ordinance stipulates，Unlicensed money lending business，will be fined and imprisoned，Loans made by unlicensed moneylenders are not protected by law。(2) Interest rate restrictions in the two-tier structure：Interest rates less than 48% are legal，More than 60% is illegal，48%The amount between 60% and 60% may not be legal according to the Money Lenders Ordinance.，with certain exceptions，The annual interest rate on loans by any person (whether a licensed moneylender or not) shall not exceed 60%，It is illegal to exceed。
Interest rates less than 60% and greater than 48% are not necessarily legal.，It depends on the judge's judgment。Judges have discretion in this range，Therefore, in order to avoid getting into lawsuits, Hong Kong’s commercial banks and money lenders，Loan interest rates are lower than 48%。The two-tier interest rate structure (48% and 60%) that prohibits lending at excessively high interest rates was determined with reference to Hong Kong’s business practices at the time and the laws of other countries (such as the United Kingdom)。
(3) Requirements for advertising by money lenders. Any advertisement by a money lending institution must display the name of the money lender specified in the license.，Must state the annual interest rate proposed to be charged。
(4) The power of the Registrar and the police to enter business premises for investigation: the Registrar or a police officer of the rank of superintendent or above，Reasonable suspicion that a money lender has committed an offense under the Money Lenders Ordinance，may enter the moneylender's place of business，
Require
Present and inspect the money lender’s license、accounts、Documents and other related information。
(5) Improper debt collection is a problem that has been reported frequently by money lending institutions. Recent examples are，2009Year，Some members reported that some foreign domestic helpers left Hong Kong after borrowing money from money lenders.，Moneylenders often cause nuisance to former employers of domestic helpers in collecting outstanding debts。There are also debt collection agencies that post personal information about relatives in public places in order to collect debts.。
Relevant officials pointed out in 2010，Money lenders provide personal information to debt collection agencies，This does not relieve the moneylender from his liability as principal，Must ensure that the debt collection agency they employ complies with the regulations。
The Hong Kong government is very concerned about the harassment caused to citizens by bad debt collection practices，Through measures such as strengthening law enforcement and close supervision of debt collection practices by various regulatory agencies，Actively prevent and combat such behavior，The number of related reports dropped from 20,610 cases in 2005 to 18,203 cases in 2009，2010There is also a downward trend compared with 2009。
in addition，Some MPs have also received complaints，Reflects that some moneylenders are too lenient in approving loans，Large loans to teenagers with no income or credit history，Members believe this has a negative impact on the growth of young people，And their parents are likely to eventually have to repay the loan on their behalf.。
Self-regulatory organizations and self-regulatory rules：Hong Kong Licensed Money Lenders Association and its Code of Practice for Money Lenders (1) Self-regulatory organization：The Hong Kong Licensed Money Lenders Association is the trade association for the money lending industry in Hong Kong.，Founded in December 1999，More than 30 members。
Guild Responsibilities：(1) Maintain and protect the overall interests of licensed money lenders，Develop industry business operating codes；(2) Encourage mutual exchanges and cooperation among money lenders，Improve and promote business ethics and self-discipline among moneylenders；(3) Lobby the government and relevant agencies on money lending industry matters under current laws and the Money Lenders Ordinance、consultation，The goal is to strive to become a credible and influential、authoritative representative and advisory bodies，Improve the social status of the money lending industry。
Why do trade associations have so few members?，Industry insiders pointed out：This is because many money lending companies have unclear backgrounds.，So the guild’s censorship is very strict，Only companies with clear backgrounds，to become a member。(2) Self-regulatory rules - "Code of Operations for Money Lenders" 2002，The Hong Kong Licensed Money Lenders Association issued self-regulatory business operation guidelines - "Code of Practice for Money Lenders"：1、Emphasis on protecting consumer rights。(1) Protect the borrower’s right to know the service terms。
(2) Protect the privacy of customer data。(3) Ensure equal credit opportunities for different groups of people，Customers with disabilities should not be discriminated against，Don’t just rely on family status(For example, single parent)、sexual orientation、Discriminate against customers on the basis of age or race。2、
Require
Clarify the content of credit assessment，Ensure loan applicants understand the key terms of the loan contract。(1) Money lenders need to conduct credit evaluations、After examining the applicant’s repayment ability，before a loan or overdraft can be approved。
(2) The interest rate at which the moneylender should offer the loan to the customer，Will the interest rate change during the loan term?，Establish a basis for interest，If necessary, the annual interest rate and the number of days in each year (including leap years and non-leap years) used for calculation should be included.。3、Restrictions on the conduct of debt collection agencies hired by moneylenders。(1) The money lender should establish a formal contractual relationship with the debt collection company hired.。
(2) The money lender should make it clear in the contract or in writing，Debt collection companies are in the process of collecting debts，Do not threaten or use violence, either verbally or physically, against anyone。In addition, moneylenders should stipulate that debt collection agencies must not use harassing or unfair debt collection methods.。
Characteristics of the operations of the two money lending institutions investigated (1) Most of the loans are personal credit loans in terms of guarantee methods，Unsecured credit loans accounted for 75% of the two money lending institutions surveyed，Mortgage accounts for 25%，The collateral is basically real estate，Current equipment and other movable assets are mortgaged and pledged，Lenders do not accept。From the perspective of loan objects，80%of loans were given to individuals，From ordinary people to doctors、lawyer、There are senior government officials，Loan regardless of purpose。
20%of loans given to businesses，Mainly working capital loans。In comparison，The two lenders surveyed are wholly-owned loan companies in the Mainland.，90%of loans are given to SMEs。(2) Term of loan、Interest rate and single loan amount：Different money lending institutions are different. The loan term of two money lending institutions is one year.，Maximum term with mortgage is 20 years。The shortest one is more than 10 days、1month loan。
The loan interest rate depends on the rating of the applicant，The highest interest rate is 48%，Minimum interest rate guaranteed 3%，12% unsecured。Money lending agency reflects，Competition is driving interest rates down。Moneylenders are not allowed to charge handling fees，But in fact, some people also charge it in disguised form。all
cost
，calculated as part of the interest rate，The interest rate does not exceed 48%。
One of the money lending institutions surveyed only lends to individuals in Hong Kong.，No guarantee or mortgage，The maximum amount is 300,000，All credit loans，The loan rejection rate is 50% (no loans to enterprises)，And its lending companies in the mainland，Mainly lending to businesses，But leave it to the individual business owner)。Credit loan from another moneylender up to 1 million，Those with mortgages can get more than 10 million。
(3) The ROE of the two leading lending institutions is about 20%，NPL is not high，Asset quality fluctuates with the economic cycle. The ROE of the two companies surveyed is about 20%.。Better lending institutions have lower NPL ratios，Student loans have lowest NPL ratio。To collect loans, professional collection companies are generally hired.，The sharing ratio with the collection company is 28% or 37%。Individuals in debt crisis can refinance。
At this point the money lending institution negotiates with all creditors，Interest rates cut，loan extension。Of course, an individual can also declare bankruptcy，Hong Kong individuals can reopen after 4 years of bankruptcy，Japan、The United States is 7 years。Transfers of good or bad assets rarely occur，But due to competition，Some money lending companies often poach customers in front of other money lending companies.，The method is to help the customer repay the loan and then re-issue the loan to the customer at a lower interest rate.。
(4) High efficiency is the competition of money lending institutions
Advantages
，Loans can be disbursed within half an hour at the fastest，But it does not overlap with the commercial banking market，There is no direct competition and the lending efficiency of money lending institutions is very high.，The internal personal rating system takes a long time to accumulate，Plus a mature external credit reporting system，It can disburse personal loans within half an hour。One of the leading money lenders has acquired more new customers in recent years than commercial banks have acquired.。
Money lending institutions believe，They don't compete with banks，Because the customers are all customers that the bank does not want。objectively，Banks have also created some market space for lending institutions，for example，Hong Kong bank credit card debt interest rate is over 30%，up to 47% (compared to，The current mortgage loan interest rate is 2%)，In view of this situation，Lending institutions expand a business，Provide loans to cardholders at lower interest rates，Pay off debts for cardholders。
(5) Government supervision and management：basically laissez-faire，The premise is that the money lending institution does not violate the provisions of the Money Lenders Regulations and the Money Lenders Regulations：Registrar and police entered moneylender's business premises、Right to inspect books, etc.，But under investigation，Two of the largest moneylenders consider Hong Kong a free economy，Everyone operates freely in accordance with the law，The registry and police have not checked。
License renewed annually，The reason why police deny moneylender licenses is usually due to too many complaints、engaged in illegal conduct。last two years，The government convened a meeting with representatives of money lending institutions，Discuss the money lending market，This is also promoted by lending institutions。
(6) Due to the diverse sources of funds (RMB bonds、listing, etc.)，Accurate market positioning，Lower regulatory burden，Neither of the two leading money lending institutions surveyed has plans to turn into commercial banks. Hong Kong money lending institutions have diverse funding sources.，There are no plans to convert to a commercial bank。
Hong Kong money lender financing channels include：(1) Own funds；(2) Listed；(3) Bond issuance (April 2011)，One of the money lending companies surveyed issued a 3-year、RMB 500 million bond with an annual interest rate of 4%)；(4) Syndicated loan (a money lending company investigated raised about HKD 3 billion through syndicated loan，Interest rate 1.25%，Belongs to credit loan), etc.。
When a bank grants credit to a lending institution,Some do not require mortgage guarantee，Some need。Because the source of funds is guaranteed，Light regulatory burden，Therefore, neither of these two companies have plans to become commercial banks.。Even due to higher capital returns，New shareholders want to come in，All old shareholders refused。
(7) Actively expand the mainland market. The money lending institutions surveyed are already in Shenyang.、重庆、Tianjin、Chengdu、Kunming、Dalian、Establish loan companies in Beijing and other places，One of them had a 123% year-on-year increase in loan balance in the Mainland in 2010.。
Some inspirations for us (1) There is no need to implement prudential supervision on professional money lending institutions that do not accept deposits from the public、Systemic risks generally do not occur、Non-deposit-taking money lenders that will not force public resources (such as applying for re-loans from the central bank as the lender of last resort) to bail out，No need for prudential regulation。Free trade according to law，Loss at your own risk。
(2) Non-prudential supervision does not mean ignoring，Special laws and regulations must be formulated、We will speed up the promulgation of laws and regulations related to money lenders in my country in the future.，Lending to an unspecified majority，Must apply for a license，Operate in accordance with the law。Can be studied when making legislation，(1) Is it necessary to stipulate that "interest rates above a certain level are illegal"? (2) Regulate all important links in the money lending industry chain，such as debt collection、Advertising behavior, etc.。
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