The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has issued a notice requiring financial institutions to expand consumer finance in support of broader efforts to stimulate consumption. The package focuses on increasing the supply of consumer finance, adjusting how personal consumer lending is managed, providing targeted relief for stressed borrowers, and improving the consumer finance environment. Financial institutions are asked to broaden products and services for goods consumption, services consumption and new consumption scenarios, including tailored offerings for digital, green and smart purchases, supported by stronger digital delivery. Credit support is to be increased for consumption-related service sectors including wholesale and retail, hospitality, culture and tourism, education and training, healthcare and elderly care, alongside special actions to support programmes such as consumer goods trade-ins and fiscal interest subsidies on consumer loans. Banks are encouraged, subject to risk controls, to increase personal consumer lending with reasonable limits, tenors and pricing, refine due-diligence exemption arrangements, and explore online credit card opening and activation with effective identity verification. For borrowers with good credit who face temporary difficulties, lenders may agree revised repayment terms and frequency and provide renewal lending upon application and approval, while consumer loan contracts should be standardised and the final all-in financing cost clearly disclosed; payment convenience and dispute resolution are also to be strengthened, including for older people and foreign visitors, with tougher joint action against conduct that disrupts market order or harms financial consumer rights.

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