Personal credit record systems of seven Chinese cities will be connected very soon to pave the way for the launch of a nationwide system planned for 2005.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said yesterday in a press release that all commercial banks operating in the seven cities will be able to look up the connected databases from mid-December. But it did not provide the specific date of the connection.

The seven cities include Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province, Xi'an of northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, and three medium-sized cities in southern China.

A national personal credit record is badly needed to meet the needs of the booming consumer credit business.

An increasing number of Chinese citizens are joining the trend of buying homes, cars and other durables with loans.

As the business grows, so do risks. There have been reports about consumers using bank loans to buy more than one home who could not pay back the loans.

The central bank in 2002 launched a national credit record system for corporate borrowers.

And much of the government and corporate circles' efforts in this regard have also been in the corporate sector.

Some cities have established personal credit record systems of their own but they are isolated from each other and do not work efficiently.

Source: China Daily