Chinese loan sharks are demanding nude photos as collateral from female borrowers which can be used for blackmail if they fall behind on their repayments. According to the Financial Times, the aggressive tactics are an example of the drastic debt recovery measures that are being employed in the slowing Chinese economy. The democratization of finance in China via peer-to-peer lenders and the vast shadow banking system, with interest rates sometimes topping 30%, have proved an inflammatory mix and fueled a surge in souring loans. Female college students in the southern province of Guangdong were told to hand over naked photos of themselves holding their ID cards, with lenders threatening to make them public if they failed to repay their microloans.
China Economic Review