China’s central bank drops hammer on a lending firm after it marks client’s profession as a prostitute

The lending firm had described their client as a ‘professional chicken’, a Chinese euphemism for prostitute

The People’s Bank of China has banned the firm from accessing the national financial credit system

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A woman in China is seeking damages after a lending company described her as a prostitute in official documents. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:25am, 27 May 2021Updated: 9:25am, 27 May 2021

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, suspended a lending firm’s ability to access the country’s financial credit system after a sensational case in which a client was described as a prostitute in official documents.

A branch of the lending company Jinshang Consumer Finance in Nantong, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, is accused of saying a client worked as a “professional chicken” – a euphemism for a prostitute – for 10 years.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) banned a small lending firm from accessing credit scores after it described a client as a prostitute. Photo: Bloomberg

The mainland news portal people.com.cn reported on Monday that the woman, surnamed Fang, took out a three-year loan worth 162,000 yuan (US$25,300) in 2018.

In early April, Fang discovered that her occupation information in the company’s credit system read “professional chicken”, so she filed a complaint to the People’s Bank of China, the mainland’s central bank.

She is also seeking compensation for damages to her reputation.