The collapse of online lending, and the banks are laughing with glee

Listen up, everyone. The recent wave of mass layoffs in the fintech world is truly dizzying. Peer-to-peer lending companies like a certain He Technology, a certain Shang Consumer Finance, a certain Xiaoman, and a certain Fu Technology are all cutting staff. Some tech teams have shrunk from over a thousand people to just a few hundred—it's absolutely jaw-dropping. But guess what? Netizens are all shouting 'they deserve it,' as if these companies' contraction was long overdue. What's going on here? Online lending originally had a nice name—inclusive finance—with the initial intention of providing financing convenience for small and micro enterprises and individuals. But what happened? This path has become narrower and narrower, turning into a synonym for Ponzi schemes. After the P2P tide receded, small loan institutions haven't made any essential progress either. High interest spreads, high risks, and risk control hovering in gray areas—compared to banks, they're just money-grabbing machines. Bank products generally have interest rates of 3%-5%, while some online loans can hit 36% or even higher, plus various fees; if you can't repay, they resort to violent debt collection—it's like eating people without spitting out bones. Even more absurd is that some platforms force loan disbursements. You click on a rogue link and you're trapped. Many people who had no need for funds are forcibly dragged into the trap. You're so poor you can barely make ends meet, while they're eating till their mouths drip with oil. Blood-sucking platforms—that's exactly what they are. By 2025, the debt ratio for people aged 30-35 is said to exceed 90%, with an average debt of about 160,000 yuan per person. Only 55% of that is mortgages, while the rest is consumer loans, credit cards, and online loans. The destructive power of online lending on family relationships is comparable to gambling, drugs, and prostitution. Regular loans are strict in, lenient out; online lending is the exact opposite—lenient in, strict out. People with no income, no credit history, or even existing debt can still get loans. On the surface, the review is super loose, but the tricks are all later. Apart from high interest, there are various hidden fees, greatly increasing the actual cost. The huge profits of online lending also corrupt other industries. Industries doing honest work can't make money, while those pumping up and lending money get rich easily. Who would still work steadily? In the U.S., payday loans can have interest rates as high as 500%. We can't repeat this lesson of debt-fueled consumption for everyone. The Financial Regulatory Administration and the People's Bank of China jointly issued regulations on clearly disclosing the comprehensive financing cost of personal loan business, strictly restricting high-interest products. The maximum annualized rate of 24% is only transitional; by 2027, it will be further compressed to 12%. The signal is clear: say 'no' to blood-sucking platforms. Ordinary people have also become smarter, no longer lambs to the slaughter, especially young people, who are more rational and pragmatic in consumption. The most typical example is Moutai. Its stock price has been double-killed, and many have cut losses and exited. This Spring Festival, the performance of the entire high-end baijiu industry was dismal. Some say young people don't drink baijiu anymore, but the real situation is that people are unwilling to spend money unnecessarily and are turning to more cost-effective, affordable products. Bichun is one such example. Among the 200,000 liquor companies nationwide, only Moutai and Bichun are said to have the secret qualification for sauce-flavored liquor. Bichun, because it historically obtained the sixteen core strains that determine Moutai's taste, can brew a liquor that is delicate, soft, and rich in sauce aroma. Tested by the Chengdu Food Inspection Agency, its total acid is 2.07 and total ester is 3.13, highly close to Moutai. Bichun has not only won multiple honors but also participated in formulating the new national standard for sauce-flavored liquor. But despite such good quality, its price is only around a hundred yuan, offering extremely high cost-effectiveness. Many fans buy it without hesitation, and the reviews are all positive: not spicy, doesn't cause hangovers, has floral and fruity aromas, affordable, and very suitable as a daily ration liquor. Even picky old drinking buddies around you, in blind taste tests without looking at the packaging, find it hard to distinguish between the industry leader and Bichun. Overspending is being abandoned, and online lending companies are being criticized. Ordinary people can only go with the flow to survive the cycle. Making money is too hard. Spending money where it counts and living a solid life is better than anything. Therefore, online lending companies being criticized is the general trend.