A new report on the consumer finance sector in China points to a surge in customer numbers in 2019.
The “China Consumer Finance Company Development Report (2020)” (中国消费金融公司发展报告（2020）) released by the China Banking Association (CBA) on 19 August indicates that as of the end of 2019 consumer finance firms in China had a total of 127.2792 million customers, for a YoY rise of 52.29%.
Consumer finance customers in China tend to be comparatively young, with people born in the 80’s and 90’s accounting for 90% of the total, and people born in the 90’s around 50%.
As of the end of 2019 the assets of Chinese consumer finance companies totalled 498.807 billion yuan, for a rise of 28.67% compared to the previous year.
The loan balance was 472.293 billion yuan, for a rise of 30.5% compared to the previous year.
The report points to an increase in the non-performing asset disposal capability of consumer finance companies, with over half of them adjusting the standard for non-performing assets from payment in arrears for 90 days to 60 days, and the average provisions coverage ratio for the sector rising to 186.34%.
The average non-performing loan ratio of Chinese consumer finance companies was 2.63% in 2019, for a slight decline of 0.11 percentage points compared to 2018, putting them just ahead of the average for Chinese credit cards.
According to data from Wind of 10 August 2020 China was host to a total of 27 licensed consumer finance companies that had entered operation.
Licensed Chinese consumer finance companies that have commenced operation as of August 2020
| No. | Consumer finance company | Parent company |
| 1 | Yangguang Consumer Finance | China Everbright Bank |
| 2 | Bank of Beijing Consumer Finance | Bank of Beijing |
| 3 | Sichuan Miancheng Consumer Finance | Bank of Chengdu |
| 4 | Bank of China Consumer Finance | Bank of China |
| 5 | Industrial Bank Consumer Finance | Industrial Bank Co., |
| 6 | Baoshang Bank Consumer Finance | Baoshang Bank |
| 7 | Zhongyuan Consumer Finance | Zhongyuan Bank |
| 8 | Changyin Wuba Consumer Finance | Bank of Changsha |
| 9 | Bank of Harbin Consumer Finance | Bank of Harbin |
| 10 | Xingfu Consumer Finance | Bank of Zhangjiakou |
| 11 | Shangcheng Consumer Finance | Bank of Shanghai |
| 12 | Jinshang Consumer Finance | Bank of Jinshang |
| 13 | Shengjing Bank Consumer Finance | Shengjing Bank |
| 14 | Shaanxi Bank of Chang’an Consumer Finance | Bank of Chang’an |
| 15 | Zhaolian Consumer Finance | China Merchants Bank |
| 16 | Hubei Consumer Finance | Bank of Hubei |
| 17 | Zhongyou Consumer Finance | Postal Savings Bank of China |
| 18 | Bank of Hangzhou Consumer Finance | Bank of Hangzhou |
| 19 | Jieke Consumer Finance | Jieke Paifu Group |
| 20 | Suning Consumer Finance | Suning Group |
| 21 | Mashang Consumer Finance | Zhao Guoqing |
| 22 | Jinmeixin Consumer Finance | Gome and others |
| 23 | CITIC Consumer Finance | CITIC Group |
| 24 | Huarong Consumer Finance | China Huarong |
| 25 | Haier Consumer Finance | Haier Group |
| 26 | Xiaomi Consumer Finance | Xiaomi |
| 27 | Ping An Consumer Finance | Ping An |
An increasing number of tech companies and other players outside the traditional financial sector in China are also making forays into consumer finance.
These include fintech giant Ant Financial and smartphone maker Xiaomi, both of whom are launching consumer finance firms in Chongqing.
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