Huannian expects the overdue repayment rate to remain below 1%, and lending institutions will review their portfolios quarterly

Starting from April 2024, after the introduction of the "Credit Information Service" model with more than one personal credit data service provider in Hong Kong, citizens can request a free personal credit report every 12 months. Experian is one of the participating organizations, and its Asia-Pacific President and Hong Kong CEO, Marie Claire Lim Moore, stated that by the end of last year, approximately 200,000 free credit reports had been provided to citizens. Additionally, she mentioned that some lending institutions will review the density of their consumer credit portfolios quarterly instead of twice a year due to market changes, but emphasized that the overdue repayment rate for consumer credit is often below 1%, which is the lowest among the 30+ markets covered by Experian, and this rate is expected to remain stable this year. Marie Claire Lim stated that the credit market environment is changing rapidly, and there are increasingly frequent regular meetings between Experian and its lending institution clients to assess the health of their loan portfolios. Previously, these institutions might have reviewed their credit portfolios twice a year, but now Experian is discussing with several clients the possibility of changing this to quarterly due to significant market changes. She indicated that some clients began to intensify their review of loan portfolios around the end of 2024 to early 2025, as the number of bankruptcy cases and overdue repayments in Hong Kong is expected to rise slightly during that time. Nevertheless, lending institutions continue to lend, albeit more cautiously. Entering this year, she noted that the consumer credit market is also performing robustly, with the number of applications and loan amounts for credit cards and personal loans showing resilience. She stated that the overdue repayment rate in Hong Kong's consumer credit market is quite stable and is expected to remain steady throughout the year. However, based on the current observed repayment situation and the proportion of overdue repayments, it is anticipated that this rate will be difficult to decrease, but she emphasized that the overall credit quality remains healthy. She continued to state that the overdue repayment rate for consumer credit in Hong Kong is usually below 1%, which is the lowest among the 30+ markets covered by Experian globally. In several markets covered by Experian, the overdue repayment rate exceeds 10%, with some emerging markets in Africa, as well as the UK and Canada, having rates that are far higher than those in Hong Kong. Checking Credit Reports Does Not Affect Personal Ratings Since the launch of the Credit Information Service, Marie Claire Lim stated that by the end of last year, Experian had provided approximately 200,000 free credit reports to consumers in Hong Kong, reflecting an increasing awareness among consumers of the importance of monitoring their credit health, but she believes there is still significant room to improve public awareness. She also clarified that consumers checking their personal credit reports will not affect their credit ratings. Experian has launched the "Lender Data Connect" service platform, providing a cost-effective solution for small and medium-sized lenders to connect to the Credit Information Service. She indicated that this solution significantly reduces the cost for small and medium-sized lenders to join the Credit Information Service by about 80%, helping to make personal credit data more complete