UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Date of event requiring this shell company report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commission file number:
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) |
N/A |
(Translation of Registrant’s name into English) |
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
The People’s Republic of |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
Telephone: + |
Email: |
The People’s Republic of |
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
| Trading Symbol |
| Name of each exchange on which registered |
| ||||
|
|
| ||
|
* Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing on the New York Stock Exchange of American depositary shares.
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None |
(Title of Class) |
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None |
(Title of Class) |
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
☐ Yes ☒
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
☐ Yes ☒
Note - Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ | Accelerated filer ☐ | Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
☐ Yes
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.
☐Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b).
☐Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
☒ | International Financial Reporting Standards as Issued | Other ☐ |
If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.
☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b2 of the Exchange Act).
☐ Yes
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.
☐Yes ☐ No
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
3 | ||
3 | ||
3 | ||
72 | ||
115 | ||
115 | ||
140 | ||
148 | ||
153 | ||
154 | ||
154 | ||
166 | ||
166 | ||
169 | ||
169 | ||
Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds | 169 | |
169 | ||
170 | ||
170 | ||
170 | ||
171 | ||
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers | 171 | |
171 | ||
173 | ||
173 | ||
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections | 173 | |
173 | ||
174 | ||
174 | ||
174 | ||
174 | ||
178 |
i
INTRODUCTION
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires in this annual report:
● | “ADSs” refer to our American depositary shares, each of which represents two ordinary shares; |
● | “client assets” refer to the outstanding balance of client assets generated through our platforms; |
● | “CreditEase” refers to CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, our parent company and controlling shareholder; |
● | “M3+ Net Charge-off Rate” with respect to loans facilitated during a specified time period, which we refer to as a vintage, is defined as the difference between (i) the total balance of outstanding principal of loans that become over three months delinquent during a specified period, and (ii) the total amount of recovered past due payments of principal and accrued interest in the same period with respect to all loans in the same vintage that have ever become over three months delinquent, divided by (iii) the total initial principal of the loans facilitated in such vintage; |
● | “ordinary shares” refer to our ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
● | “RMB” and “Renminbi” refer to the legal currency of China; |
● | “US$,” “U.S. dollars,” “$,” and “dollars” refer to the legal currency of the United States; |
● | “Yiren Credit” refers to our credit-tech platform that has the capability to provide individual borrowers and small business owners with a full spectrum of online multi-channel loan products funded by financial institutions; |
● | “Yiren Digital,” “we,” “us,” “our company” and “our” refer to Yiren Digital Ltd., its subsidiaries and in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, the consolidated variable interest entities in China, including, but not limited to, CreditEase Puhui Information Consultant (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Hexiang Insurance Broker Co., Ltd., Haijin Yichuang Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., Yiren Financial Information Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Dekai Yichuang Asset Management (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Hainan Haijin Yichuang Data Information Service Co., Ltd., and Beijing Yiyouxuan Technology Information Service Co., Ltd.; |
● | “Yiren Select” refers to the “Finance Plus Life” super App initiative launched by Yiren Wealth, which caters to the mass affluent group’s diversified and comprehensive needs in different life scenarios; in the second half of 2022, Yiren Wealth was upgraded and re-branded as “Yiren Select;” and |
● | “Yiren Wealth” (predecessor of “Yiren Select”) refers to our wealth solution platform that specifically targets the mass affluent population and provides them with comprehensive wealth solutions. |
In March and July 2019, we entered into definitive agreements and certain amendment, respectively, with CreditEase, the controlling shareholder of our company, pursuant to which we assumed from CreditEase and its affiliates certain business operations, mainly including online wealth business targeting the mass affluent, unsecured and secured consumer lending, small-and-medium-enterprise (SME) lending and other related services or businesses (the “Acquired Businesses”). This transaction was consummated in July 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, the financial data and operating data of our company set forth in this annual report reflect the inclusion of the Acquired Businesses.
On December 31, 2020, we consummated another business restructuring with CreditEase to streamline our service lines and reposition us as a comprehensive digital personal financial management platform in China. In connection with the business restructuring, we disposed of the online consumer lending platform targeting individual investors as the funding source (the “Disposed Business”). The Disposed Business was operated by Hengcheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Hengcheng”), and CreditEase, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, paid the designated subsidiaries of our company an aggregate amount of RMB67.0 million in cash. After the restructuring, the funding source for Yiren Credit is investments from institutional funding partners only.
Our reporting currency is Renminbi, or RMB. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual report are made at a rate of RMB6.8972 to US$1.00, the exchange rate in effect as of December 30, 2022, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all.
1
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
● | our goals and strategies; |
● | our future business development, financial condition and results of operations; |
● | the expected growth of the online consumer finance marketplace market in China; |
● | our expectations as to the charge-off rates of loans facilitated through our platform; |
● | our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; |
● | our expectations regarding our relationships with borrowers and wealth clients; |
● | our plans to invest in our proprietary technologies in the areas of data collection and processing algorithms as well as new business initiatives; |
● | competition in our industry; |
● | potential impact of COVID-19 outbreak on our current and future business development, financial condition and results of operations; and |
● | relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry. |
We would like to caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should read these statements in conjunction with the risk factors disclosed in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.” Those risks are not exhaustive. We operate in an evolving environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is impossible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. You should read this annual report and the documents that we reference in this annual report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.
2
PART I
Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers
Not applicable.
Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable
Not applicable.
Item 3. Key Information
Our Holding Company Structure and Contractual Arrangements with the Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Yiren Digital Ltd. is not a Chinese operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company with no equity ownership in the consolidated variable interest entities. We conduct our operations in China through (i) our PRC subsidiaries and (ii) the consolidated variable interest entities with which we have maintained contractual arrangements. PRC laws and regulations restrict and impose conditions on foreign investment in internet culture business and certain value-added telecommunication services such as internet content provision services. Accordingly, we operate these businesses in China through the consolidated variable interest entities, and rely on contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, the consolidated variable interest entities and their shareholders to conduct the business operations of the consolidated variable interest entities. Revenues contributed by the consolidated variable interest entities accounted for 64.4%, 71.3% and 53.0% of our total revenues for the years of 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. As used in this annual report, “we,” “us,” “our company” and “our” refers to Yiren Digital Ltd., its subsidiaries, and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, the consolidated variable interest entities in China, including but not limited to CreditEase Puhui Information Consultant (Beijing) Co., Ltd. or CreditEase Puhui, which was established in March 2011 and holds our Domestic Call Center Service Permit, operates our website and primarily engages in the credit business; Hexiang Insurance Broker Co., Ltd. or Hexiang Insurance Brokers, which was established in September 2011 and holds our Business Licenses to Professional Insurance Intermediaries, operates our website and primarily engages in the insurance brokerage business; Dekai Yichuang Asset Management (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. or Dekai Yichuang, which was established in March 2016 and primarily engages in the business of asset management; Hainan Haijin Yichuang Data Information Service Co., Ltd. or Yichuang Data, which was established in December 2016; Haijin Yichuang Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. or Yichuang Financial Leasing, which was established in March 2017 and primarily engages in the business of financial leasing; Hainan Haijin Yichuang Micro-lending Co., Ltd. or Yichuang Micro-lending, which was established in May 2017 and primarily engages in the micro-lending business; Yiren Financial Information Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd. or Yiren Wealth, which was established in October 2016 and operates our website and mobile application and primarily engages in the comprehensive wealth business; Heilongjiang Changtuo Technology Development Co., Ltd. or Changtuo Technology, which was established in January 2014; Tianjin Linyang Information and Technology Co., Ltd. or Tianjin Linyang, which was established in July 2019; Beijing Yiding Technology Co., Ltd. or Yiding Technology, which was established in August 2019 and operates our website and primarily engages in the insurance referral business; Beijing Kechuang Xinlian Technology Co., Ltd. or Kechuang Xinlian, which was established in November 2019 and holds our Internet Culture Business Permit, Internet Content Provider License and Electronic Data Interchange License, operates our website and mobile application and primarily engages in the electronic commerce business; and Beijing Yiyouxuan Technology Information Service Co., Ltd. or Yiyouxuan, which was established in July 2022 and holds our Internet Content Provider License and Electronic Data Interchange License, operates our mobile application and primarily engages in the electronic commerce business. Investors in our ADSs are not purchasing equity interest in the consolidated variable interest entities in China but instead are purchasing equity interest in a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
A series of contractual agreements, including loan agreements, exclusive purchase option agreements, exclusive technology consulting and services agreements or exclusive business cooperation agreements, as applicable, intellectual property rights license agreements, equity pledge agreements, powers of attorney and business operation agreements, have been entered into by and among our subsidiaries, the consolidated variable interest entities and their respective shareholders. Terms contained in each set of contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities and their respective shareholders are substantially similar. As a result of the contractual agreements, we are considered the primary beneficiary of these companies and have consolidated the financial results of these companies in our consolidated financial statements. For more details of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure—Contractual Arrangements with the Consolidated Variable Interest Entities.”
3
However, the contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership and we may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements. In addition, these agreements have not been tested in China courts. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—We rely on contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities, and their respective shareholders for a portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure— The shareholders of the consolidated variable interest entities may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.”
There are also substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules regarding the status of the rights of our Cayman Islands holding company with respect to its contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities and their shareholders. It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to variable interest entity structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. If we or any of the consolidated variable interest entities is found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to the consolidated variable interest entities do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.”
Our corporate structure is subject to risks associated with our contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities. If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretations of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations. Our holding company, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities, and investors of our company face uncertainty about potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the consolidated variable interest entities and, consequently, significantly affect the financial performance of the consolidated variable interest entities and our company as a whole. For a detailed description of the risks associated with our corporate structure, please refer to risks disclosed under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.”
We face various risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China. Our business operations are primarily conducted in China, and we are subject to complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations. For example, we face risks associated with regulatory requirements on offshore offerings, anti-monopoly regulatory actions, and oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, which may impact our ability to conduct certain businesses, accept foreign investments, or list on a United States or other foreign exchange. These risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to continue to offer securities to investors, or cause the value of such securities to significantly decline. For a detailed description of risks related to doing business in China, please refer to risks disclosed under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”
PRC government has significant authority in regulating our operations and may influence our operations. It may exert more oversight and control over offerings conducted overseas by, and foreign investment in, China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. Implementation of industry-wide regulations, including data security or anti-monopoly related regulations, in this nature may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline. For more details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The PRC government’s significant oversight and discretion over our business operation could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs.”
Risks and uncertainties arising from the legal system in China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and quickly evolving rules and regulations in China, could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs. For more details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the legal system in Chinese mainland could adversely affect us. Certain laws and regulations in Chinese mainland can evolve quickly, which bring risks and uncertainties to their interpretation and enforcement. Administrative and court proceedings in Chinese mainland may be protracted. Some government policies and internal rules may not be published on a timely manner. These risks and uncertainties may make it difficult for us to meet or comply with requirements under the applicable laws and regulations” and “—We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.”
4
Permissions Required from the PRC Authorities for Our Operations
We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. As of the date of this annual report, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities have obtained the requisite licenses and permits from the PRC government authorities that are material for the business operations of our holding company and the consolidated variable interest entities in China, including, among others, Internet Content Provider (“ICP”) License, Electronic Data Interchange (“EDI”) License, Domestic Call Center License, Internet Culture Business Permit, Food Business Permit, Internet Drug Information Service Certificate, Filing Recordation for Medical Devices Operating Enterprise, Financing Guarantee Business License, Approval to Conduct Financial Leasing Business, Approval to Conduct Micro-lending Business and Business Licenses to Professional Insurance Intermediaries. Given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by relevant government authorities, we may be required to obtain additional licenses, permits, filings or approvals for the functions and services of our platform in the future. For more detailed information, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws, rules or regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.”
Furthermore, in connection with our issuance of securities to foreign investors, under current PRC laws, regulations and regulatory rules, as of the date of this annual report, we, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities, (i) have not received a request to obtain permissions or complete filings from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, (ii) have not received a request to go through cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, and (iii) have not received or were denied such requisite permissions by any PRC authority.
However, in connection with any future overseas capital markets activities, we may need to file with the CSRC, undergo a cybersecurity review conducted by the CAC, or meet other regulatory requirements that may be adopted in the future by PRC authorities. To the extent such requirements are or become applicable, we cannot assure you that we would be able to comply with them. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such procedures could subject us to restrictions and penalties imposed by the CSRC, the CAC or other PRC regulatory authorities, which could include fines and penalties on our operations in China, delays of or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from our offshore offerings into China, or other actions that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—The approval of and filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.”
Also, in connection with issuance of securities to foreign investors, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers. Any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to conduct future offerings of securities to investors and accept foreign investments. For more detailed information, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—The approval of and filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing” and “—Our business is subject to complex and evolving Chinese and international laws and regulations regarding data privacy and cybersecurity. Failure to protect confidential information of our customers and network against security breaches could damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.”
5
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, determines that a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be subject to inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit its securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report relaying to the SEC its determinations that the board was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed Mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. Our current independent registered public accounting firm, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, or Wei Wei, whose audit report is included in this annual report on Form 20-F, is headquartered in Flushing, New York, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, it may create uncertainty about the ability of Wei Wei to fully cooperate with the PCAOB’s request for audit workpapers located in Mainland China or Hong Kong. Such lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act. For more details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The PCAOB may be unable to inspect or fully investigate our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements. If the PCAOB is unable to conduct such inspection, our investors would be deprived of the benefits of such inspection and our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act. The delisting of our ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.”
Summary of Risk Factors
Investing in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this annual report before making an investment in our ADSs. Below please find a summary of the principal risks we face, organized under relevant headings. These risks are discussed more fully in the section titled “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.”
Risks Related to Our Business
Risks and uncertainties related to our business include, but are not limited to, the following:
● | We operate in emerging and evolving industries, and our operations, services and products have been and may need to be modified in answering to the latest market trends, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects. |
● | If we are unable to obtain adequate funding from institutional funding partners to meet user demand for loans on our platform, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected. |
● | If we are unable to maintain or increase the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace or if we are unable to retain existing borrowers or wealth clients or attract new borrowers or wealth clients, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected. |
● | If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws, rules or regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected. |
● | We may not be able to achieve profitability in the future. |
● | If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. |
● | Our business is subject to complex and evolving Chinese and international laws and regulations regarding data privacy and cybersecurity. Failure to protect confidential information of our customers and network against security breaches could damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations. |
6
Risks Related to Our Carve-out from CreditEase and Our Relationship with CreditEase
Risks and uncertainties related to our carve-out from CreditEase and our relationship with CreditEase include, but are not limited to, the following:
● | We rely on our parent company, CreditEase, for the successful operation of our business. |
● | Our financial information included in this annual report may not be representative of our financial condition and results of operations if we had been operating as a stand-alone company. |
● | We may have conflicts of interest with CreditEase and, because of CreditEase’s controlling ownership interest in our company, we may not be able to resolve such conflicts on favorable terms for us. |
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
Risks and uncertainties related to our corporate structure include, but are not limited to, the following:
● | Yiren Digital Ltd. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no equity ownership in the consolidated variable interest entities and their subsidiaries. We conduct our operations in China primarily through (i) our subsidiaries in China, (ii) the variable interest entities with which we have maintained contractual arrangements, and (iii) the subsidiaries of the variable interest entities. Holders of our ADSs hold equity interest in Yiren Digital Ltd. and do not have direct or indirect equity interest in the consolidated variable interest entities and their subsidiaries. There are uncertainties under PRC laws and regulations regarding the enforceability of the whole or any part of these contractual arrangements. If the whole or any part of our contractual arrangements with the variable interest entities and their shareholders is found to be unenforceable, we may not be able to consolidate, or derive economic interests from the consolidated variable interest entities and their subsidiaries, which could result in a material adverse change in the financial performance of our company and the value of our ADSs. |
● | Any failure by the consolidated variable interest entities or their respective shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business. |
● | The shareholders of the consolidated variable interest entities may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition. |
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
We are also subject to risks and uncertainties relating to doing business in China in general, including, but not limited to, the following:
● | PRC government has significant authority in regulating our operations and may influence our operations. It may exert more oversight and control over offerings conducted overseas by, and foreign investment in, China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. Implementation of industry-wide regulations, including data security or anti-monopoly related regulations, in this nature may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The PRC government’s significant oversight and discretion over our business operation could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs.” |
● | Changes in China’s or global economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. |
7
● | Uncertainties with respect to the legal system in Chinese mainland could adversely affect us. Certain laws and regulations in Chinese mainland can evolve quickly, which bring risks and uncertainties to their interpretation and enforcement. Administrative and court proceedings in Chinese mainland may be protracted. Some government policies and internal rules may not be published on a timely manner. These risks and uncertainties may make it difficult for us to meet or comply with requirements under the applicable laws and regulations. |
● | We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. |
● | The funds in our PRC subsidiaries or the consolidated variable interest entities in Chinese mainland may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of Chinese mainland due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of our holding company, our subsidiaries, or the consolidated variable interest entities by the PRC government on currency conversion. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenue effectively and affect the value of your investment.” |
● | The approval of and filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing. |
● | The PCAOB may be unable to inspect or fully investigate our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements. If the PCAOB is unable to conduct such inspection, our investors would be deprived of the benefits of such inspection and our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act. The delisting of our ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. |
Risks Related to Our American Depositary Shares
In addition to the risks described above, we are subject to general risks relating to our ADSs, including, but not limited to, the following:
● | The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors. |
● | The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our ADSs could adversely affect their market price. |
8
Cash and Asset Flows through Our Organization
We have established stringent controls and procedures for cash flows within our organization. Each transfer of cash between our Cayman Islands holding company and a subsidiary, the variable interest entities or their subsidiaries is subject to internal approval. The cash inflows of the Cayman Islands holding company were primarily generated from the proceeds we received from our public offerings of ordinary shares, other financing activities and cash generated from operating activities. In 2020 and 2021, our Cayman Islands holding company transferred cash in the total amount of RMB9.6 million and RMB11.9 million to our subsidiaries, and received RMB9.8 million (US$1.4 million) from our subsidiaries in 2022. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, no assets other than cash were transferred between our Cayman Islands holding company and a subsidiary, a variable interest entity or its subsidiary, no subsidiaries paid dividends or made other distributions to the holding company, and no dividends or distributions were paid or made to U.S. investors. Pursuant to the exclusive technical and consulting services agreements between our wholly-owned PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities, the amount of service fees shall be calculated in such manner as determined by both the consolidated variable interest entities and our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary from time to time based on the nature of service and paid. The consolidated variable interest entities have paid RMB392.8 million, RMB66.0 million and RMB378.1 million (US$54.8 million) of service fees to our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary under the variable interest entity arrangements for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. The consolidated variable interest entities expect to continue to settle any service fees incurred under the exclusive technical and consulting services agreements. Furthermore, cash transfers from our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities to entities outside of Chinese mainland are subject to PRC governmental control on currency conversion. As a result, the funds in our PRC subsidiaries or the consolidated variable interest entities in Chinese mainland may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of Chinese mainland due to interventions in, or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on, the ability of our holding company, our subsidiaries, or the consolidated variable interest entities by the PRC government on such currency conversion. For risks relating to the fund flows of our operations in China, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenue effectively and affect the value of your investment.”
As a Cayman Islands holding company, we may receive dividends from our PRC subsidiaries. Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the PRC, or the EIT Law, and related regulations, dividends, interests, rent or royalties payable by a foreign-invested enterprise, such as our PRC subsidiaries, to any of its foreign non-resident enterprise investors, and proceeds from any such foreign enterprise investor’s disposition of assets (after deducting the net value of such assets) are subject to a 10% withholding tax, unless the foreign enterprise investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a reduced rate of withholding tax. The Cayman Islands, where Yiren Digital Ltd., the direct parent company of our PRC subsidiaries, is incorporated, does not have such a tax treaty with China. Hong Kong has a tax arrangement with China that provides for a 5% withholding tax on dividends subject to certain conditions and requirements, such as the requirement that the Hong Kong resident enterprise own at least 25% of the PRC enterprise distributing the dividend at all times within the 12-month period immediately preceding the distribution of dividends and be a “beneficial owner” of the dividends. If our PRC subsidiaries declare and distribute profits to us, such payments will be subject to withholding tax, which will increase our tax liability and reduce the amount of cash available to our company. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure—Contractual arrangements in relation to the consolidated variable interest entities may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.” If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of China were deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%.
9
For purposes of illustration, the following discussion reflects the hypothetical taxes that might be required to be paid within China, assuming that: (i) we have taxable earnings, and (ii) we determine to pay dividends in the future:
| Tax calculation (1) |
| |
Hypothetical pre-tax earnings (2) |
| 100 | % |
Tax on earnings at statutory rate of 25% (3) |
| (25) | % |
Net earnings available for distribution |
| 75 | % |
Withholding tax at standard rate of 10% (4) |
| (7.5) | % |
Net distribution to Parent/Shareholders |
| 67.5 | % |
Notes:
(1) | For purposes of this example, the tax calculation has been simplified. The hypothetical book pre-tax earnings amount, not considering timing differences, is assumed to equal taxable income in China. |
(2) | Under the terms of variable interest entity agreements, our PRC subsidiaries may charge the consolidated variable interest entities for services provided to the consolidated variable interest entities. These service fees shall be recognized as expenses of the consolidated variable interest entities, with a corresponding amount as service income by our PRC subsidiaries and eliminate in consolidation. For income tax purposes, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities file income tax returns on a separate company basis. The service fees paid are recognized as a tax deduction by the consolidated variable interest entities and as income by our PRC subsidiaries and are tax neutral. |
(3) | Certain of our subsidiaries and the variable interest entities qualify for a 15% preferential income tax rate in China. However, such rate is subject to qualification, is temporary in nature, and may not be available in a future period when distributions are paid. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above reflects a maximum tax scenario under which the full statutory rate would be effective. |
(4) | The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a foreign invested enterprise, or FIE, to its immediate holding company outside of China. A lower withholding income tax rate of 5% is applied if the FIE’s immediate holding company is registered in Hong Kong or other jurisdictions that have a tax treaty arrangement with China, subject to a qualification review at the time of the distribution. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above assumes a maximum tax scenario under which the full withholding tax would be applied. |
The table above has been prepared under the assumption that all profits of the consolidated variable interest entities will be distributed as fees to our PRC subsidiaries under tax neutral contractual arrangements. If, in the future, the accumulated earnings of the consolidated variable interest entities exceed the service fees paid to our PRC subsidiaries (or if the current and contemplated fee structure between the intercompany entities is determined to be non-substantive and disallowed by Chinese tax authorities), the consolidated variable interest entities could make a non-deductible transfer to our PRC subsidiaries for the amounts of the stranded cash in the consolidated variable interest entities. This would result in such transfer being non-deductible expenses for the consolidated variable interest entities but still taxable income for the PRC subsidiaries.
Under PRC laws and regulations, we are subject to restrictions on foreign exchange and cross-border cash transfers, including to U.S. investors. Our ability to distribute earnings to the holding company and U.S. investors is also limited. We are a Cayman Islands holding company and we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries, which in turn rely on consulting and other fees paid to us by the consolidated variable interest entities, for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. When any of our PRC subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to their respective shareholders only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated variable interest entities is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. Each of such entities in China is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at the discretion of its board of directors. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.
10
In addition, our PRC subsidiaries, the consolidated variable interest entities and their subsidiaries generate revenue primarily in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. For more details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business,” and “—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”
Financial Information Related to the Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
The following table presents the condensed consolidating schedule of financial position for the consolidated variable interest entities and other entities as of the dates presented:
Selected Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income Information
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Variable | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Interest Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Net revenue |
| — |
| 2,063 |
| 2,541 |
| — |
| (1,169) |
| 3,435 |
Net (loss)/income |
| (43) |
| 370 |
| 848 |
| 17 |
| 3 |
| 1,195 |
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Variable | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Interest Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
Net revenue |
| — |
| 1,773 |
| 3,282 |
| — |
| (577) |
| 4,478 |
Net (loss)/income |
| (37) |
| 790 |
| 349 |
| (75) |
| 6 |
| 1,033 |
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Variable | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Interest Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
Net revenue |
| — |
| 3,858 |
| 2,663 |
| — |
| (2,559) |
| 3,962 |
Net (loss)/income |
| (29) |
| 1,592 |
| (2,122) |
| (129) |
| (5) |
| (693) |
11
Selected Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets Information
| As of December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets | |||||||||||
Variable | Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Interest | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
| 24 |
| 1,452 |
| 2,796 |
| — |
| — |
| 4,272 |
Restricted cash |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 89 |
| — |
| 89 |
Accounts receivable |
| — |
| 120 |
| 101 |
| — |
| — |
| 221 |
Contract assets, net |
| — |
| 519 |
| 108 |
| — |
| — |
| 627 |
Contract cost |
| — |
| — |
| 1 |
| — |
| — |
| 1 |
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
| 2 |
| 204 |
| 114 |
| 1 |
| — |
| 321 |
Loans at fair value |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 54 |
| — |
| 54 |
Financing receivables |
| — |
| — |
| 514 |
| — |
| — |
| 514 |
Amounts due from related parties |
| 1,398 |
| 1,163 |
| 1,112 |
| — |
| (2,407) |
| 1,266 |
Held-to-maturity investments |
| — |
| 1 |
| — |
| 2 |
| — |
| 3 |
Available-for-sale investments |
| 49 |
| 481 |
| 595 |
| — |
| (152) |
| 973 |
Property, equipment and software, net |
| — |
| 14 |
| 63 |
| — |
| — |
| 77 |
Deferred tax assets |
| — |
| — |
| 84 |
| — |
| — |
| 84 |
Right-of-use assets |
| — |
| 24 |
| 10 |
| — |
| — |
| 34 |
Investments in its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs |
| 4,572 |
| 1,432 |
| — |
| — |
| (6,004) |
| — |
Total assets |
| 6,045 |
| 5,410 |
| 5,498 |
| 146 |
| (8,563) |
| 8,536 |
Accounts payable |
| — |
| 5 |
| 9 |
| — |
| — |
| 14 |
Amounts due to related parties |
| — |
| 318 |
| 2,312 |
| 5 |
| (2,407) |
| 228 |
Deferred revenue |
| — |
| 56 |
| 9 |
| — |
| — |
| 65 |
Payable to investors at fair value |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 232 |
| (232) |
| — |
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
| 14 |
| 169 |
| 1,132 |
| — |
| — |
| 1,315 |
Secured borrowings |
| — |
| — |
| 768 |
| — |
| — |
| 768 |
Deferred tax liabilities |
| — |
| 63 |
| 17 |
| — |
| — |
| 80 |
Lease liabilities |
| — |
| 26 |
| 9 |
| — |
| — |
| 35 |
Total liabilities | 14 | 637 | 4,256 | 237 | (2,639) | 2,505 |
12
| As of December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets | |||||||||||
Variable | Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Interest | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
| 6 |
| 1,465 |
| 1,393 |
| — |
| — |
| 2,864 |
Restricted cash |
| — |
| 24 |
| — |
| 57 |
| — |
| 81 |
Accounts receivable |
| — |
| 88 |
| 217 |
| — |
| — |
| 305 |
Contract assets, net |
| — |
| 543 |
| 563 |
| — |
| — |
| 1,106 |
Contract cost |
| — |
| 4 |
| 9 |
| — |
| (3) |
| 10 |
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
| — |
| 206 |
| 145 |
| 1 |
| — |
| 352 |
Loans at fair value |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 74 |
| — |
| 74 |
Financing receivables |
| — |
| — |
| 1,698 |
| — |
| — |
| 1,698 |
Amounts due from related parties |
| 1,408 |
| 3,661 |
| 2,284 |
| — |
| (6,474) |
| 879 |
Held-to-maturity investments |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 2 |
| — |
| 2 |
Available-for-sale investments |
| 89 |
| 155 |
| 5 |
| — |
| (72) |
| 177 |
Property, equipment and software, net |
| — |
| 22 |
| 81 |
| — |
| — |
| 103 |
Deferred tax assets |
| — |
| — |
| 7 |
| — |
| — |
| 7 |
Right-of-use assets |
| — |
| 35 |
| 46 |
| — |
| — |
| 81 |
Investments in its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs |
| 3,332 |
| 1,432 |
| — |
| — |
| (4,764) |
| — |
Total assets |
| 4,835 |
| 7,635 |
| 6,448 |
| 134 |
| (11,313) |
| 7,739 |
Accounts payable |
| — |
| — |
| 19 |
| — |
| — |
| 19 |
Amounts due to related parties |
| — |
| 2,826 |
| 3,964 |
| 42 |
| (6,399) |
| 433 |
Deferred revenue |
| — |
| 2 |
| 10 |
| — |
| — |
| 12 |
Payable to investors at fair value |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 203 |
| (152) |
| 51 |
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
| 14 |
| 214 |
| 954 |
| 1 |
| — |
| 1,183 |
Secured borrowings |
| — |
| — |
| 1,029 |
| — |
| — |
| 1,029 |
Refund liabilities |
| — |
| 6 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 6 |
Deferred tax liabilities |
| — |
| 72 |
| 41 |
| — |
| — |
| 113 |
Lease liabilities |
| — |
| 33 |
| 39 |
| — |
| — |
| 72 |
Total liabilities | 14 | 3,153 | 6,056 | 246 | (6,551) | 2,918 |
13
Selected Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows Information
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets | |||||||||||
|
|
| Variable |
| Backed |
|
| |||||
Company | Interest | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
Parent | Subsidiaries | Entities | Entities | Eliminations | Total | |||||||
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities | (23) | 483 | 1,375 | 4 | 10 | 1,849 | ||||||
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities | 43 | (522) | 428 | 35 | 69 | 53 | ||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities |
| (4) |
| — |
| (400) |
| (6) |
| (79) |
| (489) |
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 2 |
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets | |||||||||||
Variable | Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Interest | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities | (10) | (35) | 250 | (35) | (12) | 158 | ||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities | (31) | 81 | (359) | 66 | (104) | (347) | ||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities |
| (3) |
| — |
| 501 |
| (187) |
| 116 |
| 427 |
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes |
| (1) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| (1) |
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||
Consolidated | ||||||||||||
Consolidated | Assets | |||||||||||
Variable | Backed | |||||||||||
Company | Interest | Financing | Consolidated | |||||||||
| Parent |
| Subsidiaries |
| Entities |
| Entities |
| Eliminations |
| Total | |
RMB | ||||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities | (13) | 1,091 | (828) | 42 | (10) | 282 | ||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities | — | (1,203) | (1,249) | 33 | 622 | (1,797) | ||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities |
| (3) |
| (66) |
| 1,542 |
| 94 |
| (612) |
| 955 |
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes |
| (1) |
| (2) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| (3) |
Selected Financial Data
In July 2019, we consummated a business realignment transaction with CreditEase, the controlling shareholder of our company, pursuant to which we have assumed from CreditEase and its affiliates the Acquired Businesses. As our company and the Acquired Businesses have been under the common control of CreditEase since the establishment of our company, ASC 805-50 requires that our financial statements be recast to retroactively reflect the acquisition of the Acquired Businesses for all the applicable prior periods presented. Item 3 of Form 20-F requires that selected financial information be presented for the registrant’s most recent five fiscal years. However, registrants are permitted to omit up to two of the earliest years in such five-year period in certain circumstances.
14
On December 31, 2020, we consummated another business restructuring with CreditEase to streamline our service lines and reposition us as a comprehensive digital personal financial management platform in China. In connection with the business restructuring, we disposed of the Disposed Business. The Disposed Business was operated by Hengcheng, and CreditEase, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, paid the designated subsidiaries of our company an aggregate amount of RMB67.0 million in cash. Please see “Item 4. Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company” for further information.
The following selected consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022 and selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2021 and 2022 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The following selected consolidated statements of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the selected consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report. The following selected recast consolidated statements of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the selected recast consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 have been derived from our audited recast consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report.
Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 2022 | |||||||
RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| US$ | ||
(in thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data, and percentages) | ||||||||||||
Selected Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Net revenue (including revenue from related parties of RMB177,341, RMB142,477, RMB145,442, RMB573,158 and RMB411,010 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| 11,244,114 |
| 8,616,784 |
| 3,961,962 |
| 4,477,929 | 3,434,620 | 497,973 | ||
Operating costs and expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Sales and marketing (including expenses from related parties of RMB997,203, RMB434,875, RMB111,550, RMB1,548 and RMB38 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| (6,658,270) |
| (4,457,353) |
| (1,905,095) |
| (1,553,344) | (573,974) | (83,218) | ||
Origination, servicing and other operating costs (including costs from related parties of RMB559,724, RMB409,287, RMB718,734, RMB354,985 and RMB350,311 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| (1,061,289) |
| (665,083) |
| (1,104,682) |
| (760,858) | (776,841) | (112,631) | ||
General and administrative (including expenses from related parties of RMB584,426, RMB122,338, RMB 192,934, RMB135,118 and RMB100,636 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| (1,336,247) |
| (731,806) |
| (627,368) |
| (508,869) | (423,718) | (61,433) | ||
Provision for contingent liability |
| (419,581) |
| (9,462) |
| (3,187) |
| 2,629 | — | — | ||
Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others |
| (992,581) |
| (1,625,051) |
| (371,629) |
| (370,154) | (188,223) | (27,291) | ||
Loss of disposal |
| — |
| — |
| (655,839) |
| — | — | — | ||
Total operating costs and expenses |
| (10,467,968) |
| (7,488,755) |
| (4,667,800) |
| (3,190,596) | (1,962,756) | (284,573) | ||
Interest income/(expense), net | 73,917 |
| 73,367 |
| 61,623 |
| (73,383) | (26,302) | (3,813) | |||
Fair value adjustments related to the consolidated asset backed financing entities |
| 243,122 |
| 3,866 |
| (143,988) |
| (37,442) | 18,900 | 2,740 | ||
Gain on disposal of loan receivables and other beneficial rights |
| 663,884 |
| 159,392 |
| — |
| — | — | — | ||
Other income, net |
| 26,323 |
| 32,365 |
| 14,844 |
| 26,665 | 30,921 | 4,483 | ||
Total other income/(loss), net |
| 1,007,246 |
| 268,990 |
| (67,521) |
| (84,160) | 23,519 | 3,410 | ||
Income/(loss) before provision for income taxes |
| 1,783,392 |
| 1,397,019 |
| (773,359) |
| 1,203,173 | 1,495,383 | 216,810 | ||
Income tax (expenses)/benefit |
| (194,287) |
| (239,228) |
| 80,611 |
| (170,189) | (300,512) | (43,570) | ||
Share of results of equity investees |
| (9,295) |
| (2,180) |
| — |
| — | — | — | ||
Net income/(loss) |
| 1,579,810 |
| 1,155,611 |
| (692,748) |
| 1,032,984 | 1,194,871 | 173,240 | ||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding, basic |
| 184,225,643 |
| 185,219,586 |
| 180,301,898 |
| 169,029,826 | 174,695,959 | 174,695,959 | ||
Basic net income/(loss) per share |
| 8.5754 |
| 6.2391 |
| (3.8422) |
| 6.1113 | 6.8397 | 0.9917 | ||
Basic net income/(loss) per ADS (1) (2) |
| 17.1508 |
| 12.4782 |
| (7.6844) |
| 12.2226 | 13.6794 | 1.9834 | ||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding, diluted |
| 186,270,515 |
| 186,535,464 |
| 180,301,898 |
| 170,590,203 | 175,391,332 | 175,391,332 | ||
Diluted net income/(loss) per share |
| 8.4813 |
| 6.1951 |
| (3.8422) |
| 6.0554 | 6.8126 | 0.9877 | ||
Diluted net income/(loss) per ADS (1) (2) |
| 16.9626 |
| 12.3902 |
| (7.6844) |
| 12.1108 | 13.6252 | 1.9754 |
Notes:
(1) | Each ADS represents two ordinary shares. |
(2) | For purposes of calculating net loss/income per share, the weighted average number of ordinary shares for all the prior periods presented in the consolidated financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the issuance of our ordinary shares to CreditEase in consideration of our assumption of the Acquired Businesses. |
15
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 2022 | |||||||
| RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| RMB |
| US$ | |
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
| 2,606,939 |
| 3,198,086 |
| 2,469,909 |
| 2,864,543 | 4,271,899 | 619,367 | ||
Restricted cash |
| 427,546 |
| 71,056 |
| 237,239 |
| 80,800 | 88,796 | 12,874 | ||
Contract assets, net (net of allowance of RMB992,049, RMB1,515,627, RMB467,306, RMB350,686 and RMB153,435 as of December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| 3,909,263 |
| 2,398,685 |
| 750,174 |
| 1,105,905 | 626,739 | 90,869 | ||
Loans at fair value |
| 1,375,221 |
| 418,492 |
| 192,156 |
| 73,734 | 54,049 | 7,836 | ||
Financing receivables (net of allowance of nil, nil, RMB32,975, RMB65,489 and RMB40,735 as of December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively) |
| — |
| 29,612 |
| 1,253,494 |
| 1,697,962 | 514,388 | 74,579 | ||
Held-to-maturity investments |
| 329,597 |
| 6,627 |
| 3,286 |
| 2,200 | 2,700 | 391 | ||
Available-for-sale investments |
| 835,565 |
| 460,991 |
| 175,515 |
| 177,360 | 972,738 | 141,034 | ||
Total assets |
| 14,251,815 |
| 9,644,420 |
| 6,702,253 |
| 7,739,440 | 8,536,095 | 1,237,617 | ||
Secured borrowings |
| 222,419 |
| 18,590 |
| 500,500 |
| 1,028,600 | 767,900 | 111,335 | ||
Refund liabilities |
| 2,145,748 |
| 1,801,535 |
| 10,845 |
| 5,732 | — | — | ||
Total liabilities |
| 14,615,228 |
| 5,154,330 |
| 2,924,589 |
| 2,918,008 | 2,505,282 | 363,231 | ||
Total (deficit)/equity |
| (363,413) |
| 4,490,090 |
| 3,777,664 |
| 4,821,432 | 6,030,813 | 874,386 |
Not applicable.
C. | Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds |
Not applicable.
D. | Risk Factors |
Risks Related to Our Business
We operate in emerging and evolving industries, and our operations, services and products have been and may need to be modified in answering to the latest market trends, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.
The market for China’s loan facilitation and wealth solutions are emerging and in general remain at relatively preliminary stages of development and may not continue to develop as rapidly as expected. The regulatory framework for the industries we operate in is also evolving and may remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.
16
We launched our online marketplace in March 2012 and have a limited operating history. Starting in the fourth quarter of 2014, we began offering loan products with different pricing grades. In the second quarter of 2017, we further launched a new credit scoring system, the Yiren score, which can be used to more accurately characterize a borrower’s credit profile. As a result of our strategic business realignment with CreditEase in 2019, we began operating our business on a more diverse and scalable mix of service platforms—Yiren Credit and Yiren Wealth (predecessor of “Yiren Select”). Yiren Credit was our credit-tech platform that had the capability to provide individual borrowers and small business owners with a full spectrum of online and offline, multi-channel loan products funded by retail and institutional investors. Yiren Wealth (predecessor of “Yiren Select”) was our wealth solution platform that specifically targeted the mass affluent population and provided them with comprehensive wealth solutions. In May 2020, we acquired Hexiang Insurance broker Co., Ltd., or Hexiang Insurance Brokers, which further expanded our business lines under our holistic wealth service strategy. Hexiang Insurance Brokers has been operating our insurance brokerage business since the acquisition and has been growing into an essential business arm within Yiren Digital ecosystem. On December 31, 2020, we consummated another business restructuring with CreditEase to streamline our service lines and reposition us as a comprehensive digital personal financial management platform in China. In connection with the business restructuring, we disposed of the online consumer lending platform targeting individual investors as the funding source (the “Disposed Business”). The Disposed Business was operated by Hengcheng, and CreditEase, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, paid the designated subsidiaries of our company an aggregate amount of RMB67.0 million in cash. After the restructuring, the funding source for Yiren Credit is investments from institutional funding partners only. In the second half of 2022, we upgraded and re-branded Yiren Wealth as Yiren Select, which is our comprehensive wealth solution platform that targets the mass affluent population with a variety of non-financial products and services as well as wealth solutions.
As our business develops or in response to competition, we may continue to introduce new products or make adjustments to our existing products, or make adjustments to our business model. In connection with the introduction of new products or in response to general economic conditions, we may impose more stringent borrower qualifications to ensure the quality of loans on our platform, which may negatively affect the growth of our business. Any significant change to our business model may not achieve expected results and may have a material and adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. For example, we cannot assure you that wealth solutions available through our platform can be widely accepted in light of our limited experience and operating history in the wealth business sector. It is possible that we may not be able to provide access to attractive wealth solutions to achieve our clients’ expected returns. Any failure on our part to keep up with providing access to wealth solutions or any failure to respond quickly to the market trend may materially and adversely affect the growth of our wealth business. It is therefore difficult to effectively assess our future prospects. The risks and challenges we encounter or may encounter in this developing and rapidly evolving market may adversely impact our business and prospects. These risks and challenges include our ability to, among other things:
● | navigate an evolving regulatory environment; |
● | expand the base of borrowers and wealth clients served on our platforms; |
● | acquire borrowers and wealth clients in a cost-effective manner; |
● | enhance our risk management capabilities and maintain low delinquency rates of transactions facilitated by us; |
● | continue to scale our technology infrastructure to support the growth of our platform and higher transaction volume; |
● | broaden our product offerings; |
● | source qualified third-party wealth solutions; |
● | enhance our risk management capabilities; |
● | attract sufficient funding from institutional funding partners; |
● | improve our operational efficiency; |
● | cultivate a vibrant consumer finance ecosystem; |
● | maintain the security of our platform and the confidentiality of the information provided and utilized across our platform; |
17
● | attract, retain and motivate talented employees; and |
● | defend ourselves against litigation, regulatory, intellectual property, privacy or other claims. |
We are subject to all risks and challenges inherent in developing business enterprise in emerging and evolving industries. If the market for our marketplace does not develop as we expect, or if we fail to address the needs of our target market, or other risks and challenges, our business and results of operations will be harmed.
If we are unable to obtain adequate funding from institutional funding partners to meet user demand for loans on our platform, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.
The growth and success of our operations depend on the availability of adequate funding to meet users’ demand for loans on our platform. Our funding sources include investments from institutional funding partners only. Our institutional funding partners primarily include commercial banks, trusts, microloan, and consumer finance companies. In 2022, 100.0% of loans facilitated on our platform were funded by our institutional funding partners. To maintain a high growth momentum of our marketplace, we must continuously attract more institutional funding partners to our marketplace. If there is insufficient funding from our institutional funding partners, borrowers may not be able to obtain capital through our marketplace and may turn to other sources for their borrowing needs. If we are unable to retain our existing institutional funding partners or attract new institutional funding partners, or if regulatory authorities promulgate new laws and regulations to regulate, limit, or even prohibit our collaboration with the institutional funding partners, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected. Our cooperation with institutional funding partners is not on an exclusive basis. If the governmental authorities further tighten the regulations on the online consumer finance industry, our institutional funding partners would become more selective in choosing partners for referring borrowers and facilitating loans for them. The competition we face would become even more intense. If we fail to continuously meet their requirements or needs, our financial institution partners may stop cooperating with us and turn to our competitors, which may also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to maintain or increase the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace or if we are unable to retain existing borrowers or wealth clients or attract new borrowers or wealth clients, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.
The growth of our marketplace is dependent on the increase in the volume of loans facilitated and the sales volume of our current wealth products through our marketplace, which may be affected by several factors, including the regulatory environment, our brand recognition and reputation, the effectiveness of our risk control, the repayment rate of borrowers on our marketplace, the spectrum and attractiveness of our current wealth products, the efficiency of our platform, the macroeconomic environment and other factors.
To maintain the high growth momentum of our marketplace, we must continuously increase the volume of loans and the sales volume of our current wealth products by retaining current participants and attracting more users whose needs for financing, or wealth appreciation or protection can be met on our marketplace. If there is insufficient funding from our institutional funding partners, borrowers may not be able to obtain capital through our marketplace and may turn to other sources for their borrowing needs. If we are unable to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient funding from our institutional funding partners or if borrowers do not continue to participate in our marketplace at the current rates due to business or regulatory reasons, we might not be able to increase our loan transaction volume and revenues as we expect, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.
To the extent permitted by laws and regulations, we intend to continue to dedicate significant resources to our user acquisition efforts, including establishing new acquisition channels. For our credit-tech business, we attract borrowers through online channels, such as our self-developed e-commerce platform, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, mobile application downloads through major application stores, as well as various marketing campaigns and membership services. Historically, we also utilized offline channels for borrower acquisition, and we relied on CreditEase Puhui Information Consultant (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or CreditEase Puhui, an entity managing CreditEase’s national service network, for offline borrower acquisition. We started to scale back our offline borrower acquisition in the second half of 2021 and discontinued the business in February 2022 to optimize product mix, cost efficiency and revenue structure during and post the pandemic period. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, 21.7%, 6.1% and 0.0% of our borrowers were acquired through CreditEase Puhui, respectively, contributing 68.4%, 29.3% and 0.0% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. For our holistic wealth business, we acquire clients through a variety of sources, such as online direct marketing, CreditEase ecosystem, member referral and channel partnership. In order to better serve our clients and enhance their overall wellbeing, we started to provide selected and customized non-financial products and services under Yiren Select “holistic wealth” strategy in December 2021. Yiren Select is designed to specifically meet the comprehensive needs of China’s mass affluent population.
18
There is no assurance that we will be successful with our user acquisition efforts. If any of our current user acquisition channels becomes less effective, if we are unable to continue to use any of these channels or if we are not successful in using new channels, we may not be able to acquire new borrowers and wealth clients in a cost-effective manner or convert potential borrowers and wealth clients into active borrowers and wealth clients, and may even lose our existing borrowers and wealth clients to our competitors. If we are unable to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient funding from our institutional funding partners or if wealth clients do not continue to participate in our marketplace, we might be unable to increase our loan transaction volume or sales volume of wealth products and thus unable to increase revenues as we expect, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.
If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws, rules or regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.
The PRC government has adopted several regulations governing the personal credit reporting business. According to these regulations and measures, no entity may engage in the personal credit reporting business without approval by the credit reporting industry regulatory department under the State Council. If any entity directly engages in the personal credit reporting business without such approval, the entity is subject to penalties including suspension of business, confiscation of revenues related to the personal credit reporting business, fines and criminal liabilities.
On September 27, 2021, the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, issued the Administrative Measures for Credit Reporting Business, or the Credit Reporting Measures, which took effect on January 1, 2022. The Credit Reporting Measures define “credit information” to include “basic information, borrowing and lending information and other relevant information legally collected in the offering of services of finance or other activities for purposes of identifying and judging the credit standing of businesses and individuals, as well as result of analysis and evaluation based on the aforesaid information” and define “credit reporting business” as the collection, collation, keeping and processing of credit information and provision of such information to information users. The Credit Reporting Measures applies to entities that carry out credit reporting business and “activities relating to credit reporting business” in China. Separately, entities providing “services of credit reporting function” in the name of “credit information service, credit service, credit evaluation, credit rating, credit repair, among others” are also subject to the Credit Reporting Measures. Credit Reporting Measures provide for an 18-month grace period from its effectiveness date for organizations that engage in credit investigation business to obtain the credit reporting business license and comply with its other provisions. The Credit Reporting Measures are new and significant uncertainties exist with respect to its interpretation and implementation. For example, the Credit Reporting Measures do not directly deny the legitimacy of existing data analytics or precision marketing service providers in the financial service industry, nor does it provide a clear guidance or implementation rules on how and when these providers, if deemed to be conducting credit reporting business, could apply for required licenses or otherwise comply with the Credit Reporting Measures.
In addition, it is reported that in April 2021, the PBOC, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, or the CBIRC, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, invited a number of internet platform operators for a meeting to discuss the operations and compliance of their internet finance business, including but not limited to conducting credit reporting business through authorized credit reporting agency.
We organize, store and analyze information provided by users after obtaining their consent. This information contains certain personal information of users, a portion of which, upon their consent, will be provided to our institutional funding partners for their further review and assessment. Due to the lack of further interpretations of the current regulations governing the personal credit reporting business, it is uncertain whether we would be deemed to engage in the personal credit reporting business. We cannot assure you that we will not be required in the future to obtain approval or license for the personal credit reporting business and comply with the relevant regulations, which may be costly, or become subject to penalties associated with regulations governing the personal credit reporting business.
19
According to the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Financing Guarantee Companies, which was promulgated by State Council and came into effect on October 1, 2017, without the approval by the competent government department, no entity may operate the financing guarantee business in which such entity acts as a guarantor providing guarantee to the guaranteed parties as to their loans, bonds or other types of debt financing. If any entity engages in the financing guarantee business without such approval, the entity may be subject to penalties, including ban or suspension of business, confiscation of revenues related to financing guarantee business, fines and criminal liabilities. Circular on Measures for the Regulation of Risks in the Information Technology Outsourcing by Banking and Insurance Institutions, or Circular 141, further sets out that a banking financial institution shall not accept any credit enhancement service, ultimate commitment or any other disguised credit enhancement service provided by any third-party institution without guarantee qualifications. We cooperated with a bank to furnish borrower referral and facilitation services to the bank from August 2017 to December 2017. We provided guarantee deposits to the bank to protect it from potential losses due to loan delinquency and undertook to timely replenish such deposits from time to time. We also undertook to repay the bank on behalf of defaulting borrowers if any repayment was 80 days overdue and upon such full repayment to the bank, we would obtain the creditor’s rights in respect of the relevant default amount. Since the promulgation of Circular 141, we have suspended the cooperation with the bank. Due to the lack of further interpretations and the evolving regulatory environments, it is uncertain whether we would be deemed by the PRC regulatory authorities as operating financing guarantee business, which is prohibited by the Interim Measures. We cannot assure you that we will not be subject to sanctions imposed by relative PRC regulatory agencies, or be required in the future to obtain approval or license for financing guarantee business to continue our cooperation with banks.
In July 2020, the CBIRC published the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Loans of Commercial Banks and amended in June 2021, or the Commercial Banks Measures, which stipulate several rules on internet loans provided by commercial banks. In February 2021, the CBIRC issued the Notice on Further Regulating the Internet Loan Business of Commercial Banks, or the Internet Loan Notice, which makes further provisions on the internet loan business by commercial banks. In July 2022, the CBIRC issued the Notice on Strengthening the Management of the Internet Lending Business of Commercial Banks to Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Financial Services, or the Commercial Banks Notice, aiming to further specify rules on internet loans provided by commercial banks. The Commercial Banks Notice grants a transition period until June 30, 2023 for the internet loan stock business. For newly generated internet loans provided by commercial banks during such transition period, the Commercial Banks Notice, the Internet Loan Notice and the Commercial Banks Measures shall apply. We cannot assure you that our cooperation with commercial banks will remain in compliance with the Commercial Banks Measures, the Internet Loan Notice and the Commercial Banks Notice.
The laws, rules and regulations continue to evolve in this emerging industry, and the interpretation of these laws, rules and regulations by the local authorities may be different from our understanding. We cannot be certain that our practices would not be deemed to violate any existing or future laws, rules and regulations. For instance, since the online insurance industry in China is evolving rapidly, the CBIRC has been enhancing its supervision over this industry in recent years, and new laws, regulations and regulatory requirements have been promulgated and implemented from time to time. We face challenges brought by these new laws, regulations and regulatory requirements, as well as significant uncertainties in the interpretation and application thereof. Moreover, there exist uncertainties as to how the regulatory environment might change.
20
The regulatory framework in China’s insurance industry is evolving and undergoing significant changes. Further development of regulations applicable to us may result in additional restrictions on our business operations. We may have to adjust our business practice and operations to comply with the continuously changing regulatory requirements. For example, the Implementing Measures for Administrative Licensing and Record-filing for Insurance Intermediaries, promulgated by the CBIRC on October 28, 2021 and effective on February 1, 2022, which apply to both online and offline insurance intermediaries, require the CBIRC and its local offices to implement administrative license and recordation of insurance intermediary business and senior executives. On December 14, 2020, the CBIRC published the Regulatory Measures for Online Insurance Business, or the Regulatory Measures, which became effective on February 1, 2021, significantly changed the regulatory regime for online insurance business in various aspects. For instance, the Regulatory Measures require insurance institutions (including insurance carriers and insurance intermediary service providers, such as insurance brokerage companies and insurance agency companies) to (i) establish internal policies with regard to personnel management, customer information protection and internal control, (ii) enhance compliance management of promotional materials and marketing activities, (iii) meet certain detailed requirements for sales activities, and (iv) protect the information right of consumers by making appropriate disclosure. In particular, the Regulatory Measures require online insurance transactions being conducted through online interfaces operated by insurance institutions only, and prohibit insurance institutions to set default option for customer and impose any restriction on the cancellation of automatic payment to affect customer’s choice during the sales process of insurance products. The Regulatory Measures prohibit entities which are not insurance institutions from conducting insurance businesses, such as consultation of insurance products, comparison of insurance products, trial calculation of insurance premiums, quotation and comparison of quotations, drafting insurance plans for policyholders, processing insurance application formalities and premium collection. The Regulatory Measures also do not explicitly allow the entities which are not insurance institutions to conduct marketing activities for online insurance products. In addition, the Regulatory Measures set a higher standard for insurance institutions and online industry participants to improve IT infrastructure and cybersecurity protection. In particular, insurance institutions engaged in online insurance products sales business shall have IT systems that are certified as Safety Level III Computer Information Systems or above level.
In October 2021, the CBIRC published the Circular on Further Regulating Certain Issues on Internet Life Insurance Business, or the Internet Life Insurance Circular. The Internet Life Insurance Circular requires that each installment of premium of certain insurance products less than one year term shall be equal. The Internet Life Insurance Circular also provides the upper limit for the predetermined fee rate and average supplemental fee rate for certain insurance products, which may affect the amount of insurance brokerage commission we charge on the relevant insurance products and adversely affect our financial condition. The attention of our management team could be diverted to these efforts to cope with an evolving regulatory or competitive environment. Meanwhile, staying compliant with the restriction may result in limitation to our business scope, limitation to our product and service offerings, and reduction in our attraction to consumers.
Our financing guarantee and insurance brokerage business are subject to the supervision of financial authorities. While we have not been subject to any regulatory penalties as of the date of this annual report in connection with such financing guarantee and insurance brokerage business practices, we may be subject to regulatory warnings, correction orders, condemnation and fines and may be required to further modify our business if any of our financing guarantee or insurance brokerage companies is deemed to have violated national, provincial or local laws and regulations or regulatory orders and guidance.
Furthermore, if the PRC government issues any laws and regulations that restrict or prohibit our collaboration with our financial institution partners, our collaboration with them may have to be terminated or suspended, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, on December 31, 2021, seven ministries and commissions including the PBOC issued the Measures for Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products (Draft for Comments), which if becoming effective will regulate online marketing of financial products by financial institutions or internet platform operators engaged by such financial institutions. Pursuant to this draft, financial institutions shall not engage other entities or individuals to carry out internet marketing of financial products unless otherwise provided or authorized by laws and regulations. This draft also prohibits third-party online platform operators from being involved in the sale of financial products or participating in the income sharing of financial business in a disguised way without the approval of financial regulatory authorities. If these measures were to be adopted in their current form, we may no longer be able to display financial products in current format on our mobile app to conduct online marketing, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and prospects.
21
The Administrative Measures for Information Technologies of Securities Fund Operators, published by the CSRC in December 2018 and amended in January 2021, provide that agencies providing information technology services for securities and funds business activities shall file record with the CSRC. The Provisions on the Implementation of the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Publicly-offered Securities Investment Fund Distributors, or the Implementation Measures, issued by the CSRC on August 28, 2020 and effective on October 1, 2020, provide that where a fund manager or a fund distributor rents cyberspace premises (such as websites or applications) of a third-party network platform to deploy relevant webpages and feature modules and provide fund distribution services for investors, such third party shall, as a fund service agency engaging in information technology system services, file record with the CSRC.
In the second half of 2022, we upgraded and re-branded Yiren Wealth as Yiren Select, which is our comprehensive wealth solution platform that targets the mass affluent population with a variety of non-financial products and services as well as wealth solutions. Yiren Select does not provide information technology services for securities and funds business activities and thus we believe that Yiren Select will not be required to file record with the CSRC. As of the date of this annual report, we have not received any notification or punishment for failing to file record with the CSRC as a fund service agency engaging in information technology system services. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC governmental authorities would take the same view as us. Furthermore, Yiren Select’s operation is subject to various PRC regulations relating to internet advertising. We cannot assure you that Yiren Select will remain in compliance with such regulations.
If our business arrangements with certain institutional investors were deemed to violate PRC laws and regulations, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
As part of our strategy to expand our institutional investor base, we may from time to time explore alternative funding initiatives, including through standardized capital instruments, such as the issuance of asset-backed securities.
We have established business relationships with trusts, asset backed special plans and funds (collectively referred to as the “assets backed financing entities,” or “ABFEs”) which were administered by trust companies and asset management companies. The ABFEs were set up to invest solely in the loans facilitated on our platform and provide returns to the beneficiaries of the ABFEs through interest payments made by the borrowers. Under the arrangements, we normally invest in all of subordinate tranches and portion of senior tranches. We were designated as the service provider for the ABFEs. Through the transaction fees charged, security funds deposited, and direct investment, we have the right to receive benefits or bear losses from the ABFEs. We are considered as the primary beneficiary of the ABFEs and thus consolidated such ABFEs’ assets, liabilities, results of operations and cash flows.
Although operating of our online marketplace is not part of the fund-raising process by the ABFEs, we cannot assure you that our provision of services to the ABFEs and investments through the ABFEs will not be viewed by PRC regulators as violating any laws or regulations regarding capital pools. Also, we transferred cash to certain trusts in amounts equal to certain percentages of the entire assets put into the trusts, as security funds to protect the ABFEs from potential losses from defaults of loans in which the ABFEs have invested. Under limited circumstances, the remainder of such funds may be returned to us, and we cannot assure you that we will not be viewed by PRC regulators as bearing some credit risk or providing credit enhancement services under such arrangement. In addition, we cannot assure you that the purchase of beneficial rights of the ABFEs through the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or purchase of beneficial rights of ABFEs in private placement would not be deemed as investments in loans facilitated through the online marketplace we operate by using our own capital. If any of such business arrangements were deemed to violate PRC laws and regulations, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, as the laws, rules and regulations applicable to asset-backed securities are still developing, it remains uncertain as to the application and interpretation of such laws, rules and regulations, particularly as they relate to the online lending information intermediary service industry.
22
If we are unable to maintain low default rates for loans facilitated by our platform, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Our ability to attract borrowers and institutional funding partners to, and build trust in, our marketplace is significantly dependent on our ability to effectively evaluate a borrower’s credit profile and maintain low default rates. To conduct this evaluation, we have employed a series of procedures and developed a proprietary credit assessment and decisioning model. Our credit scoring model aggregates and analyzes the data submitted by a borrower, as well as the data we collect from a number of internal and external sources, and then generates a score for the prospective borrower. The score will be further used to approve and classify the borrower into different segments in our current risk grid. If our credit scoring model contains programming or other errors, is ineffective, or the data provided by borrowers or third parties are incorrect or stale, our loan pricing and approval process could be negatively affected, resulting in misclassified or mispriced loans or incorrect approvals or denials of loans. As a result, we may not be able to effectively and accurately assess the credit profiles of borrowers, segment borrowers into the appropriate grade in the risk grid, or maintain low default rates of loans facilitated by our platform. In addition, the foregoing will also have an impact on collectability of service fees, resulting in higher allowances for contract assets.
Historically, loans generated from our online channels generally have experienced higher delinquency rates and higher charge-off rates as compared with loans referred from offline channels. If the proportion of loans generated from our online channels increases as opposed to loans generated from our offline channels, the overall delinquency rates and charge-off rates of loans facilitated by our platform may increase. In addition, once a loan application is approved, we do not further monitor certain aspects of the borrower’s credit profile, such as changes in the borrower’s credit report and the borrower’s purchasing pattern with online merchants. If the borrower’s financial condition deteriorates, we may not be able to take measures to prevent default on the part of the borrower and thereby maintain low default rates for loans facilitated by our platform. Prior to the completion of our business realignment with CreditEase, the borrowers that we served were primarily prime borrowers, who held credit cards with stable credit performance and sufficient repayment capabilities. After the completion of the business realignment with CreditEase, we have been shifting our customer mix towards higher credit quality segment and lowering prices under the window guidance that require IRR-based lending rate capped at 24%. Although we collaborate with insurance and guarantee companies to provide credit enhancement for loans facilitated through our marketplace, if widespread defaults were to occur, institutional funding partners may incur losses and cease collaboration with us, the insurance and guarantee companies that cooperate with us may raise their insurance premium and guarantee service fees, which may cause us to lower fee rates to stay competitive in acquiring borrowers, and our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
If our loan products do not achieve sufficient market acceptance, our financial results and competitive position could be harmed.
We incur expenses and consume resources upfront to develop, acquire and market new loan products. The expected M3+ Net Charge-off Rate and actual observed results for each of these customer groups divide potential borrowers into distinctively different credit segments. For a more detailed description of the risk grades we currently offer, please see “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Risk Management—Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System.” New loan products must achieve high levels of market acceptance in order for us to recoup our investment in developing, acquiring and bringing them to market.
Our existing or new loan products and changes to our platform could fail to attain sufficient market acceptance for many reasons, including, but not limited to:
● | our failure to predict market demand accurately and supply loan products that meet this demand in a timely fashion; |
● | borrowers and institutional funding partners using our platform may not like, find useful or agree with any changes; |
● | our failure to properly price new loan products; |
● | defects, errors or failures on our platform; |
● | negative publicity about our loan products or our platform’s performance or effectiveness; |
● | views taken by regulatory authorities that the new products or platform changes do not comply with PRC laws, rules or regulations applicable to us; and |
23
● | the introduction or anticipated introduction of competing products by our competitors. |
If our new loan products do not achieve adequate acceptance in the market, our competitive position, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our business depends on our ability to collect payment on the transactions we facilitate.
Historically, we used to provide loan collection services to the individual investors who funded through our platform. After we disposed of the Disposed Business, we can assist our institutional funding partners in the loan collection services upon their request. As of December 31, 2022, most of our institutional funding partners performed loan collection by themselves and we did not provide such services. However, if requested, we can utilize an automated process for collecting scheduled loan payments from our borrowers. Upon loan origination, we establish a payment schedule with payment occurring on a set business day each month. Borrowers then make scheduled loan repayments via a third-party payment platform or a payment platform delegated by the institutional funding partners. As a day-to-day service to borrowers, we provide payment reminder services such as sending reminder text messages and phone calls on the day a repayment is due. Once a repayment is past due, we also send additional reminder text messages during the first fourteen days of delinquency. The collections process commences once a loan is fifteen days delinquent. To facilitate repayment, the collections process is divided into distinct stages based on the severity of delinquency, which dictates the level of collection steps taken. For example, reminder text messages and emails are sent to a delinquent borrower as soon as the collections process commences, and if the payment is still outstanding, the collection team will make phone calls. Although most stages of the collections process are outsourced to CreditEase, we handle all decisions to restructure or defer delinquent loans that are above a certain threshold, while CreditEase collection teams have the discretion to make decisions for the loans that are below such threshold.
However, despite such collection efforts, we cannot assure you that we will be able to collect the relevant payments as expected. Failure to collect payments and maintain low default rates for loans facilitated by our platform will have an adverse effect on our business operations, financial position and results of operations. Furthermore, any misconduct in our collection practice (including that of CreditEase carried out on our behalf) that is considered not to be in compliance with the relevant laws, rules and regulations may harm our reputation and business, which could further reduce our ability to collect payments from borrowers, lead to a decrease in the willingness of prospective borrowers to apply for loans on our platform, or fines and penalties imposed by the relevant regulatory authorities, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, if any laws, rules or regulations are adopted by the regulatory authorities in the future imposing additional restrictions on debt collection practice, we may need to modify our collection efforts accordingly.
If we are not able to respond to changes in customer preferences for our products and services and provide a satisfactory customer experience on our platforms, or our existing and new products and services do not maintain or achieve sufficient market acceptance, we will not be able to maintain and expand our customer base and increase customer activities, and our financial results and competitive position will be harmed.
We believe that our customer base is the cornerstone of our business. Our ability to maintain and expand our customer base depends on a number of factors, including our ability to provide access to suitable loan products or wealth solutions for our customers, and our ability to provide relevant and timely products and services to meet changing customer needs. If we are unable to respond to changes in user preference and deliver satisfactory and distinguishable user experience, our users may switch to competing platforms or obtain the relevant products and services directly from their providers. As a result, customer access to and customer activity on our platform will decline, our products and services will be less attractive to our customers, and our business, financial performance and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.
If the market acceptance of the online wealth solutions we provide access to, or the attractiveness of online wealth solutions in general, declines, and we fail to retain our clients by improving our services and providing the access to more alternative wealth solutions, we may suffer a loss of our client base, and our business, operation results and financial status will be adversely impacted.
We have devoted significant resources to, and will continue to emphasize on, upgrading and marketing our existing loan products and wealth solutions available through our platforms and enhancing their market awareness. We also incur expenses and expend resources upfront to develop, acquire and market new loan products and wealth solutions that incorporate additional features, improve functionality or otherwise make our products more desirable to borrowers and wealth clients. New loan products and wealth solutions must achieve high levels of market acceptance in order for us to recoup our investment in developing, acquiring and bringing them to market.
24
Our existing and new loan products and wealth solutions available through our platform could fail to attain sufficient market acceptance for many reasons, including: