Beijing seeking equality for bank borrowers in draft law

Beijing has proposed a ban on credit bureaus and agencies collecting information on a person’s ethnicity, family background, religion or political affiliation, the South China Morning Post reported. According to a draft law published on the State Council’s Legislative Affairs Office for public consultation, also banned would be the gathering of information of a person’s appearance, genetics, fingerprints, blood type and medical history. Lawyers said the move was aimed at preventing financial discrimination based on a person’s ethnic background or religion. "When a dispute arises between, say, a Han Chinese and an ethnic Tibetan, on who deserves a better credit rating while applying for a bank loan, the government will be able to say banks made a decision purely on the person’s financial position," a Beijing-based lawyer said. China does not have clear laws on its credit reference system, a factor that the central bank said hampered the development of a sophisticated credit rating system.