Does Hong Kong’s loan shark law proposal lack bite needed to tame debt collectors?

A proposal to tighten regulations over Hong Kong’s notorious loan sharks is too narrowly focused and will not tackle the root problem of unruly debt collectors, according to lawmakers and legal experts.

The legislators and specialists criticised the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau’s plan to set a cap on borrowing activity for low-income earners and impose stricter rules for loan “referees”, saying it failed to tackle the shadowy network of intermediaries who enabled predatory lending.

The bureau is seeking public feedback between June and August over proposals to tie unsecured personal loans to a borrower’s income, either through an aggregate loan cap or a debt servicing ratio. It has also floated the idea of banning the use of referees altogether to stop the widespread harassment of third parties.

“Harassment is against the law, but harassment happens every day,” lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said. “People wonder if there is lawlessness in Hong Kong.”

At a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, the government said that the Companies Registry had received 725 complaints about money lenders in the past five years. Referrals to police were made in 509 of the cases, which authorities said showed the need for tougher regulation.

Last year, the registry received 214 complaints, conducted 561 inspections and issued 22 warning letters. These included 58 complaints involving domestic helpers, of which 18 directly concerned moneylenders harassing loan referees.