Sino Guarantee, Bank of Shanghai inject fresh capital into online lender China Rapid Finance

China Rapid Finance, operator of the mainland’s largest online consumer lending platform, is looking to step up its domestic expansion after forging wide-ranging partnerships with China United SME Guarantee Corp (Sino Guarantee) and the Bank of Shanghai.

Sino Guarantee and Bank of Shanghai said on Tuesday that they will both join the China Rapid Finance platform, a development that could see more traditional financial service providers collaborate with players in the country’s growing peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry.

The state-owned Sino Guarantee, the premier financial guarantor for loans and bonds on the mainland, has made an initial commitment of 500 milllion yuan (HK$ 566.5 million) as lending capital for the China Rapid Finance platform.

It has also invested US$20 million in China Rapid Finance as part of the online lending start-up’s Series C financing round, in which a total funding of US$70 million was raised.

The Bank of Shanghai, the mainland’s biggest regional bank, has signed up as both an infrastructure sponsor and lender, providing China Rapid Finance with payment channels, fund custody services, and undisclosed lending capital.