Hong Kong to tighten moneylending rules to tackle debt collector harassment
Authorities will impose measures such as stricter borrowing caps and ban loan referees in August
Hong Kong’s licensed moneylenders will face strict new regulations starting in August, including debt-servicing ratio caps for low-income earners and a complete ban on using loan referees – a move lawmakers have said should reduce harassment by debt collectors.
Lawmakers also said on Saturday that the measures outlined by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau would help curb most illicit loans, while one legislator called for further regulation of the moneylending industry.
The bureau said in a consultation conclusions report released on Friday that the government would roll out the regulatory measures in two phases to protect the public interest.
In the first phase, beginning on August 1, monthly repayments for borrowers earning HK$6,000 (US$766) or less will be capped at 35 per cent of their income, while those earning between HK$6,001 and HK$12,000 will face a 40 per cent limit, according to the report.
Official data in the report showed that “excessive borrowing” had become “particularly acute among low-income earners” and foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, with some taking out massive loans just before their employment contracts ended and then disappearing.
The document said this practice had left employers facing harassment from debt collectors attempting to recover unpaid loans, highlighting significant vulnerabilities within the current moneylending framework.