BEIJING: China’s peer-to-peer lending platforms transacted a record-high 60.9 billion yuan (US$9.8 billion) in May, according to data compiled by Online Lending House, a web portal that tracks the sector.
The transactions jumped 10.6 percent from April, and nearly up 2.7 times from a year earlier.
“The market felt optimistic about financial innovation after several P2P platforms announced they would be acquired by listed companies last month,” said Ma Jun, chief research officer at Shanghai Ying Can Investment Management Consulting Co.
The annual transactions involving P2P websites are estimated to exceed 800 billion yuan this year, according to Online Lending House.
P2P lending, which allows individuals to borrow money from other individuals without going through banking system, is booming in China. Borrowers get easier access to loans, and lenders are able to charge higher interest rates.
But the current lax rules have seen the number of problematic platforms rise to 59 in May from 52 in April, with nearly 62 percent of them being fraudulent sites that closed suddenly.
