Since 2007, peer-to-peer platforms (P2P) lending has mushroomed in China as a new source of fixed income for retail investors. Peer-to-peer lending is a new method of debt financing that allows people to borrow and lend money without a financial institution. Harnessing technology and big data, P2P platforms connect borrowers to investors faster and cheaper than any bank.

Last year, the country’s $60 billion peer-to-peer lending sector was dogged by scandals and fraud due to loose oversight. This resulted in China’s authorities’ imposing new rules due to concerns about defaults and fraud among the nation’s 2,349 online lenders.

Right now, China is facing two extremes of P2P platforms going up and down: record-breaking funding rounds (Lufax US$ 10 billion) and record-breaking Ponzi schemes (Ezubao, US$ 7.6b).

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