Lerong Lu – författare

Lerong Lu examines the biggest change in modern financial industry - the Fintech (financial technology) revolution - that denotes the close interaction between the financial services industry and latest information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. The three areas of banking institutions, online lending marketplaces, and money and payment systems are explored to assess how financial innovations affect the traditional financial industry, what kinds of regulatory challenges arise, and how global policymakers react to such challenges. With in-depth and international case studies on Fintech, including app-based banking services, mobile payments, P2P lending, and cryptocurrencies, the global Fintech hubs in six continents are assessed. The complex, dynamic, and multidimensional Fintech ecosystem is also investigated including its key players (such as regulatory strategy, regulatory sandbox, and RegTech) and Fintech corporations (including financial holding companies, Fintech unicorns, BigTech firms, and Metaverse platforms). Lu highlights the enormous benefits for financial institutions and their consumers and argues that Fintech contributes to a more equal, democratic, inclusive, and sustainable financial system. However, he also considers the risks and multiple legal, ethical, and regulatory challenges for policy-makers and financial authorities that Fintech has posed.

The topic of the financial industry, from both practical and regulatory perspectives, has been widely debated since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008, but the discussion is mostly framed within a Western context. However, China now boasts one of the largest and most dynamic financial systems in the world and has three of the largest global stock markets as well as the gigantic commercial banks such as the ICBC and the Bank of China. It is actively opening its financial markets by reforming its securities law and introducing stock connect schemes with exchanges in the UK and Switzerland and also has the most advanced Fintech and mobile payment sector. China's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project is already being rolled out on a national scale, contributing to the rise of the Chinese yuan as a new global currency. In this volume, Lerong Lu explores the remarkable rise of China's financial industry, its detailed operating mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks and regime. He examines the legal and regulatory environments underpinning this industry, including its regulatory agencies and institutional arrangements (such as the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission), financial safety net and crisis management tools, and specialized financial courts and dispute resolution mechanisms. Lu captures the fast-changing and dynamic nature of China's financial institutions and markets from three unique angles: financial marketization, financial globalization, and financial innovation. Through detailed case studies, the author critically assesses the strengths and special characteristics of these financial institutions, markets, and currencies in the world's second-largest economy, addressing if and when China becomes the next global financial superpower.

This book explores China’s private lending market from historical, economic, legal, and regulatory perspectives. Private lending refers to moneylending agreements between business borrowers and their debt investors without the involvement of banks. In China, it remains difficult for private entrepreneurs to obtain sufficient loans from state-owned banks. Thus, private lending has been a vital alternative financing channel for over 80 million businesses which are reliant on private funds as their major source of operating capital. The market volume of private financing stands at 5 trillion yuan ($783bn), making it one of the largest shadow banking systems in the world. Despite the wide popularity and systemic importance of private lending activities, they have remained outside of the official regulatory framework, leading to extra financial risks. In 2011, China’s private lending sector encountered a severe financial crisis, as thousands of business borrowers failed to repay debts and fell into bankruptcy. Lots of bosses who found it impossible to liquidate debts ran away to hide from creditors. The financial turmoil has caused substantial monetary losses for investors across the country, which triggered social unrest and undermined the financial stability.This book is a timely work intended to demystify China’s private lending market by investigating its historical development, operating mechanism, and special characteristics. It evaluates the causes and effects of the latest financial crisis by considering a number of real cases relating to helpless investors and runaway bosses. It conducts an in-depth doctrinal analysis of Chinese laws and regulations regarding private lending transactions. It also examines China’s ongoing financial reform to bring underground lending activities under official supervision. Finally, the book points out future development paths for the private lending market. It offers suggestions for global policymakers devising an effective regulatory framework for shadow banking. It appeals to researchers, lecturers, and students in several fields, including law, business, finance, political economy, public policy, and China study.