The announcement of the central bank’s regulation of Internet loan business has been released. In the past two months, the loan APP still has the promotion of ＂daily interest rate＂

　　Announcement No.3 in 2021 issued by the central bank in March this year shows that all institutions engaged in loan business should show the annualized interest rate to borrowers in an obvious way when marketing through websites, mobile applications, posters and other channels, and indicate it when signing the loan contract, or display information such as daily interest rate and monthly interest rate at the same time as needed, but it should not be more obvious than the annualized interest rate. The annualized loan interest rate can be calculated by compound interest or simple interest method. If the simple interest calculation method is adopted, it should be explained that it is simple interest.

　　Recently, the Beijing Youth Daily reporter found that many loan apps are still playing "cleverness" with consumers in displaying interest rates, and only show the daily interest rate or the lowest annualized interest rate with a small value. Only when consumers actually get the loan, do they find that the real interest rate is much higher than they thought.

　　survey

　　A few apps still violate the rules to promote customers at daily interest rates.

　　The announcement of the central bank has been released for nearly two months. However, the reporter of Beiqing Daily found that there are still some loan apps that use the daily interest rate to promote customers, and they have not marked the annualized interest rate at the same time.

　　For example, the application page of Vipshop’s "only cash withdrawal for flowers" only shows "the minimum daily interest fee of 13,60 seconds will arrive at the account quickly"; Mango TV’s "Mangli Good Loan" is known as "low interest, and the daily interest rate is as low as 0.02%"; On the "Financial Services" page of the "My Wallet" page, the car APP of Shouqi Car shows "the maximum is 300,000, and the minimum daily interest rate is 22,000". After clicking enter, you will see four loan products with annualized interest rate display.

　　In addition, some loan products have neither annual interest rate nor daily interest rate, only the maximum loan amount. For example, the activation page of JD.COM Gold Bar only shows the maximum loan amount of 200,000 yuan, and the words "50,000 yuan is free for 15 days", "fast loan", "installment repayment" and "low interest rate", and there is no specific interest rate description, which can only be seen after opening; After other apps enter, only the maximum amount that can be applied is displayed, and you need to register to see the details; Xiaomi’s satellite loan shows that "the maximum loan amount is 300,000 yuan", "the fastest one-minute loan and flexible repayment", and you need to log in to learn more information.

　　There are fewer loan products marked with simple interest.

　　According to the requirements of the central bank, all loan products should clearly indicate the annualized interest rate of loans; The annualized loan interest rate can be calculated by compound interest or simple interest method; If the simple interest calculation method is adopted, it should be explained that it is simple interest. The calculation method of compound interest is the internal rate of return method, that is, the annualized internal rate of return (IRR) calculated after considering compound interest according to the borrower’s loan principal, repayment amount per period, loan period and other factors. The annex to the central bank’s announcement called it "a fair way to calculate the annualized interest rate of loans".

　　After investigation, the reporter of Beiqing Daily found that at present, the loan products of most formal institutions have been marked with annualized interest rates according to the requirements of the central bank. Alipay borrowing, micro-loan, and US group living expenses also show the daily interest rate and annual interest rate, and some also list the conversion formulas of the two.

　　However, only a few products have "simple interest" next to their interest rates. For example, the homepage of Anyihua shows that "the annualized interest rate is at least 7.2% (simple interest) and risk pricing is implemented"; Today’s headline shows that "the annual interest rate (simple interest) is 10.80%-24%"; The "Goose Spending Money" docked by Tencent Video APP indicates that "the annual interest rate is as low as 7.20% (simple interest), calculated on a daily basis".

　　reveal a secret

　　The result of compound interest calculation for the same loan is higher than simple interest.

　　What effect will simple interest or compound interest have on the real interest rate of consumers? Two examples are provided in the announcement of the central bank, and the result of the same loan calculated by IRR method is higher than that of simple interest.

　　For example, a consumer finance company borrows a loan with a term of one year and monthly repayment, with a total of 12 installments and a principal of 100,000 yuan. According to the repayment plan, the borrower pays the 1000 yuan service fee in one lump sum in the current loan period, and repays 8833.3 yuan in equal amount every month from the end of the first month after the loan, in which the principal is 100,000/12 = 8333.3 yuan, and the installment fee (calculated by 0.5% of the initial loan principal) is 100,000× 0.5% = 500 yuan. The comprehensive annualized interest rate of the above loans calculated by simple interest is about 12.80%, and the comprehensive annualized interest rate calculated by IRR method is about 13.58%.

　　A person’s housing loan, with a term of 20 years and monthly repayment, has a total of 240 installments, with a principal of 1 million yuan, and is repaid by matching principal and interest. According to the repayment plan, from the end of the first month after the loan, the borrower will repay the principal and interest of 6599.6 yuan in equal amount every month. The annualized interest rate of the above loans calculated by simple interest is about 5%; The annualized interest rate calculated by IRR method is about 5.12%.

　　Liu Xinyu, a partner of Zhonglun Law Firm, believes that the central bank’s announcement clarified the calculation scope and method of comprehensive capital cost, solved the scope dispute of comprehensive capital cost in legal practice, and provided legal reference for the judicial department to handle loan dispute cases. At the same time, the formal introduction of IRR into the regulatory provisions will help protect consumers’ right to know and prevent consumers from being misled into applying for loans without knowing the true cost.

　　Don’t be tempted by the lowest interest rate. The actual approved interest rate is often much higher.

　　The reporter of Beiqing Daily found that many loan products are marked with "annualized interest rate from 7.2%". If you think that the interest rate you get is 7.2%, you will be greatly disappointed. Because lending institutions will evaluate customers’ credit and risk levels according to various factors, customers need to apply first, and only after the approval of the institutions can they know their final access quota and applicable interest rate. The actual loan interest rate approved by consumers will not be the same, and only the best customers can enjoy the lowest interest rate.

　　According to the investigation of the reporter of Beiqing Daily, the loan interest rates enjoyed by different customers on the same platform are very different, and the interest rates obtained by the same person on different platforms may be different. Few customers really enjoy the lowest interest rate, but many customers complain that the interest rate is too high.

　　For example, the same is Alipay. The daily interest rate of reader Miss Wang is 0.025% and the annual interest rate is 9.125%, while her friend Mr. Zhang is 0.04% and the annual interest rate is 14.6%. The annual interest rate of Miss Wang’s micro-loan is 10.95%, which is higher than that of Borrowing Bai, while Mr. Zhang’s micro-loan interest rate is 12.775%, which is lower than Borrowing Bai.

　　In another application, it is clearly marked that "the daily interest rate starts from 0.02% and the annualized interest rate starts from 7.20%". Miss Huang, who is heading for 7.20%, finally got the interest rate of 0.065% per day and 23.4% per year, which is more than three times that of 7.2%. Her friend Mr. Li was granted a daily interest rate of 0.097% and an annualized interest rate of 34.92%, which is 4.85 times that of 7.2%. They all want to know how many customers have actually obtained loans with an annual interest rate of 7.20%.

　　On the black cat complaint platform, there are more than 40,000 complaints about "annual interest rate", most of which are "the annual interest rate is found to be too high after borrowing". Some complainants reported that the annual interest rate of some lending platforms even exceeded 36%.

　　point out

　　Be wary of network platform inducing excessive borrowing.

　　At the end of last year, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued "Warning on Risk of Excessive Lending Induced by Online Platforms". China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission pointed out that in order to obtain a large number of customers, some online platforms over-market financial products such as loans or credit card overdrafts through various online consumption scenarios to induce over-consumption. China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Consumer Protection Bureau reminds consumers that they should establish a rational consumption concept, use lending products rationally, choose formal institutions and channels to obtain financial services, and be alert to the hidden risks or traps behind excessive lending marketing.

　　According to the risk warning, some organizations or online platforms unilaterally emphasize the favorable conditions such as low daily interest rate, interest-free period and zero interest installment. However, the so-called "zero interest" does not mean zero cost, and there are often "service fees", "handling fees" and "overdue charges", and the actual comprehensive annualized interest rate of such products may be very high. Some marketing activities intentionally blur the actual cost of borrowing, which infringes on consumers’ right to know and easily leads to misunderstanding or recognition.

　　There are also some online platforms that claim that the loan procedures are simple, tempting consumers to click on it, and some institutions even lend excessively to minors, school students, low-income people, etc., and then carry out violent collection, pretend to be malicious collection by judicial organs, and collect for borrowers’ relatives and friends, causing a series of family and social problems.

　　Text/Reporter Cheng Wei Coordinator/Yu Meiying