Lexin and Qifu Technology fell nearly 70% in a year, and peer-to-peer lending platforms are once again under strict restrictions.

Ask AI · How will new regulations reshape the profitability model of the lending assistance industry?

Produced by Damai Finance

The lending industry is once again welcoming a major regulatory policy.

On March 15, the General Office of Financial Supervision announced that, to maintain order in the personal loan market, protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, and improve the quality and efficiency of financial services, the National Financial Supervision and Administration, in conjunction with the People’s Bank of China, formulated the “Regulations on Clear Disclosure of the Total Cost of Personal Loan Business.”

These regulations require that when disclosing the total cost of personal loans, the borrower’s obligations for various interest and fee payments under normal performance conditions should be converted into an annualized rate using the internal rate of return method, then summed to calculate the borrower’s annualized comprehensive financing cost. The scope includes banks, trust companies, micro-lenders, consumer finance companies, and partner institutions within the lending industry.

Just two days before the new regulations were issued, on March 13, the General Office of Financial Supervision posted that, recently, in response to issues with internet lending assistance businesses, the bureau held talks with the operating agencies of five platforms: Fenqile, Qifu Borrow, Niwo Dai, Yixianghua, and Credit Fei.

These talks directly targeted five major pain points in the industry: standardizing marketing and advertising, clearly disclosing interest and fees, strictly protecting personal information, conducting lawful and compliant collection, and improving complaint resolution mechanisms. These five requirements precisely address the areas where borrower complaints have been most concentrated.

Lending assistance platforms have long been a sensitive area within personal loan services. In Sina Finance’s 2026 “315 Financial Complaint Black and Red List,” issues such as “loan apps forcing disbursement into套路贷 (loan shark schemes), disappearance of repayment portals, and ‘exploding contact lists’” were listed among the top five financial consumer complaint hotspots.

The introduction of new regulations and the regulatory bureau’s interviews directly target the opaque interest and fee practices and hidden charges that have long plagued assistance platforms. Previously, practices such as disguised charges through “bundled sales” or hiding true loan rates with guarantee fees and membership fees—collectively known as “套路贷”—have been rendered unviable under the requirement for “full coverage of interest and fee items.”

For assistance platforms that have long thrived on traffic and capital-driven growth, the inclusion of partner institution fees into borrower management responsibilities in the “Regulations,” along with the emphasis on consumer rights protection during the interviews, marks the end of the era of reckless profit-making through information asymmetry and excessive interest spreads.

End of Wild Growth

Conducting the “3.15” consumer rights day interviews just before the international consumer rights day was no coincidence; it signals a clear regulatory stance to rectify chaos in the internet lending assistance industry.

The five platforms summoned are all leading representatives in the industry. Fenqile, Qifu Borrow, Niwo Dai, and Yixianghua are associated with publicly listed companies Lexin (LX), Qifu Technology (QFIN, 3660.HK), Jiayin Technology (JFIN), and Yiren Zhike (YRD), respectively. Only Credit Fei’s parent company, Xinfei Technology, is not listed. Their development histories span over a decade of industry evolution.

Fenqile is a core brand under Lexin Group, founded in Shenzhen in 2013, pioneering China’s installment shopping e-commerce model. As an early leader in large-scale expansion, Fenqile listed on NASDAQ at the end of 2017, holding a nationwide online micro-loan license. It has accumulated 240 million registered users, with a single-quarter matchmaking transaction volume of 50.89 billion yuan in Q3 2025, and an outstanding loan balance exceeding 101.84 billion yuan.

However, the capital market has expressed deep concerns about its compliance risks and the sustainability of its traditional profit model. Lexin reached a high of $11.331 per share last March, but following the issuance of new lending assistance regulations, its stock price has plummeted, now down to $2.645 per share, with a market value dropping 77% in a year.

According to its Q3 2025 financial report, Lexin’s revenue was 3.42 billion yuan, but its revenue structure heavily depends on interest spreads from lending assistance and matchmaking services, with guarantee and matchmaking income accounting for 76.5%. More worryingly, the Black Cat Complaint platform shows Fenqile has accumulated nearly 149,900 complaints, with nearly 100 new complaints daily, mainly about high interest rates, bundled sales, and violent collection.

Qifu Borrow, formerly “360 Borrow,” rebranded in August 2024, is a credit technology service brand under Qifu Technology (formerly 360 Digital Science). According to its 2024 financial report, by the end of 2024, founder Zhou Hongyi indirectly held 15.87% of Qifu Technology through Aerovane Company Limited, making him the largest shareholder.

Qifu Technology has achieved dual listing on NASDAQ and HKEX, holding both online micro-loan and financing guarantee licenses, with over 280 million registered users and deep cooperation with 159 licensed financial institutions. In the first three quarters of 2025, it achieved a total net income of 15.11 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 4.97 billion yuan.

Its stock price has nearly followed Lexin’s trajectory, falling over 70% since March last year. As of March 16, its stock price was HKD 55.25 per share, with a market value of HKD 15.621 billion.

On the Black Cat Complaint platform, numerous complaints about “Qifu Borrow” or “360 Borrow” reflect issues such as violent collection and high-interest charges, with some users reporting an effective interest rate as high as 40%, far exceeding national limits. In early 2026, Qifu Technology disposed of a 7.4 billion yuan non-performing asset package at a discount, raising concerns about asset quality in the lending assistance sector.

Most of these five platforms experienced rapid expansion during the industry boom from 2015 to 2017, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 20%. However, this scale expansion also brought issues like rising consumer leverage and increased borrower joint debt risks.

At the end of last year, the “Guidelines for Managing the Total Cost of Small Loan Companies” was officially issued, with the core mandatory requirement that all small loan companies must not issue new loans with an annualized comprehensive cost exceeding 24%.

With the implementation of the new regulations, mainstream domestic institutions have begun to reduce interest rates. For example, Lexin’s parent company stated in its financial report, “In Q3, we efficiently completed business adjustments and transitioned our operations to comply with new regulatory requirements. From October 1, 2025, all new loans initiated will be priced at or below an annual interest rate of 24%.” The Fenqile app also prominently displays “Annual interest rate (simple interest) 8%-24%.”

However, disguised high-interest practices have not been entirely eradicated. Outside mainstream institutions, some non-mainstream entities continue to covertly charge high interest through methods like head-axing fees and “monthly financing guarantees.”

This round of interviews is not only a key step in implementing the “Lending Assistance New Regulations” but also a clear signal of a regulatory shift. The focus has shifted from solely regulating banks to managing both banks and lending assistance platforms together, covering the entire chain. For the industry as a whole, this regulatory sword signifies the end of an era of reckless growth driven by information asymmetry and excessive profits.