Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and People's Bank of China Jointly Release "Provisions on Explicit Comprehensive Financing Cost Disclosure for Personal Loan Business" Clarifying Interest and Fee Information Disclosure for Personal Loan Business

Our reporter Liu Qi

According to the website of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (hereinafter referred to as “Financial Regulatory Administration”) on March 15, 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 Financial Regulatory Administration and the People’s Bank of China jointly issued the “Regulations on Clear Disclosure of Comprehensive Financing Costs for Personal Loan Business” (hereinafter referred to as “Regulations”), which will come into effect on August 1, 2026.

“In recent years, China’s personal loan market has developed rapidly, playing a positive role in promoting personal consumption, production, and steady, healthy economic growth,” said officials from the Financial Regulatory Administration and the People’s Bank of China. At the same time, issues such as irregularities and lack of transparency in the disclosure of interest and fee information for personal loans have emerged, which can easily lead to financial consumer disputes, affect the effectiveness of interest rate policies, and weaken the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy. It is necessary to formulate and implement relevant regulatory rules to clarify the scope, operational methods, and procedures of interest and fee disclosures, define responsibilities of all parties, better protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, facilitate the transmission of financial policies benefiting the people, and promote industry regulation and healthy development.

The “Regulations” consist of 11 articles. Within the existing framework of loan information disclosure regulation, they specify the scope, operational methods, and procedures for disclosing interest and fee information for personal loans, requiring lenders to present a clear comprehensive financing cost disclosure form, transparently disclose the interest and fee costs of personal loans, and effectively implement the disclosure requirements.

To accurately and comprehensively reflect the actual financing costs borne by borrowers in personal loan transactions, the “Regulations” include all costs related to personal loans into the comprehensive financing cost, including but not limited to loan interest, installment fees, credit enhancement service fees, and other financing costs under normal performance, as well as potential costs such as late payment penalties in case of default. Borrowers should pay attention to the comprehensive financing costs when applying for personal loans, fully understanding the items, collection methods, standards, annualized rates, collection entities, and default responsibilities involved.

The “Regulations” require that, for on-site personal loan transactions, borrowers must sign and confirm the comprehensive financing cost disclosure form before signing the loan agreement or initiating installment payments. For online personal loan transactions, the comprehensive financing cost disclosure form should be displayed via a pop-up window, with a mandatory reading period, and the borrower must confirm before signing the loan agreement or starting installments. In online consumption scenarios involving installment payments, the relevant information should be clearly displayed in a prominent manner on the payment page of the order.

The comprehensive financing cost disclosure form should specify the loan principal amount, itemize all interest and fee items charged by the lender and its partners, including their collection methods, standards, and collection entities, and calculate the annualized comprehensive financing cost for normal performance. It should also list potential costs and their standards and collection entities in cases of default or misappropriation.

In online consumption scenarios involving installment payments, the payment page should prominently display the loan principal, installment arrangements, service fees, collection entities, the annualized comprehensive financing cost borne by the borrower under normal performance, and potential costs and standards in default cases.

Both the comprehensive financing cost disclosure form and the payment page for installment payments in online scenarios should clearly indicate that, aside from the costs already disclosed, the lender and its partners will not charge any other interest or fee related to the loan.

The responsible officials stated: “To promote standardized operation of comprehensive financing cost disclosure, we have developed sample forms for the disclosure and a sample display for installment payment pages in online consumption scenarios. We will also guide industry associations such as the China Banking Association, China Internet Finance Association, and the Market Interest Rate Pricing Self-Regulatory Mechanism to leverage industry self-discipline to support the implementation of these requirements.”

“Considering that lenders need to adjust business processes, systems, and modify cooperation agreements, the Regulations will be implemented from August 1, 2026. Relevant entities should prepare accordingly. When the Regulations come into force, the ‘new-old’ principle will apply, and new business must strictly follow the disclosure requirements for comprehensive financing costs,” the official added.

(Edited by Qian Xiaorui)

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