Strengthen Regulation of Moneylenders | TransUnion: Helps Enhance Transparency of Hong Kong's Overall Consumer Credit System

The Hong Kong Association of Banks welcomes the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau’s publication of the consultation summary and specific measures to strengthen the regulation of licensed money lenders. We believe these measures are an important step in promoting responsible lending, enhancing consumer protection, and improving the overall transparency of Hong Kong’s consumer credit system.

The Association supports the government’s proactive approach to addressing over-indebtedness and ensuring sound risk management to maintain the healthy development of the lending market. We agree that the “Debt Service Ratio” (DSR) measure established for unsecured personal loans by the Treasury Bureau is a key initiative to ensure that lending levels align with consumers’ repayment capacity. The assessment related to the DSR has been widely adopted by the financial services industry. Therefore, setting flexible DSR limits based on borrowers’ income not only promotes responsible lending but also helps maintain prudent credit risk management.

At the same time, the Association firmly believes that increasing participation in the “Credit Information Platform” can further improve the integrity and reliability of this Hong Kong consumer credit data infrastructure. As more lenders join and share data, a more comprehensive picture of borrowers’ credit status will emerge. With more complete information, financial institutions can make more accurate risk assessments and credit decisions, reducing the risks of over-indebtedness for both lenders and consumers.