A financing guarantee company identified as having a fabricated state-owned enterprise background has been found to be cooperating with several Chinese banks, including Luzhou Bank, Jiangsu Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank, and Beijing Zhongguancun Bank, on digital lending platforms. The firm, Guangxi Hengrun Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. (Hengrun Guarantee), was flagged by a reader after a prior report detailed its involvement in cases where guarantor fees were used to effectively charge borrowers annualized interest rates exceeding 10% per month.
Investigations reveal Hengrun Guarantee was established in March 2009 with a paid-in capital of 1 billion yuan, fully owned by Shenzhen Qianhai Zhenkecheng Digital Technology Group. A deeper look into its ownership chain shows that its fourth-tier shareholder is Zhejiang Zhengyan Technology Co., Ltd., which was founded just nine months ago in November 2025. While Zhejiang Zhengyan's public records list its sole shareholder as state-owned entity CECT Hongsheng (Beijing) Technology, a subsidiary of the central enterprise China Far East International Trading Corporation, China Far East publicly refuted this on March 3, 2026. The company stated that Zhejiang Zhengyan and others had falsely registered its controlled subsidiary as a direct or indirect shareholder without authorization, calling the act illegal and vowing to pursue legal action. Just weeks later, on March 18, 2026, Zhejiang Zhengyan was listed by local market regulators as unreachable at its registered address.
Despite these red flags, Hengrun Guarantee was listed as a partner by financial institutions including Luzhou Bank, Jiangsu Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank, Beijing Zhongguancun Bank, Yumin Bank, and Xiaomi Consumer Finance. For instance, Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank included it among 15 partners in June 2025, though the bank's personal loan business has struggled, with consumer and credit card loans falling 6.74% year-on-year to 13.996 billion yuan by end-2025.
Luzhou Bank also listed Hengrun Guarantee as one of only two credit enhancement service partners in its digital lending list updated in May 2026. The bank's consumer loan balance dropped 18.49% to 1.532 billion yuan by end-2025. Reports indicate Luzhou Bank had previously faced complaints over high guarantor fees from medical beauty loan platforms, leading it to tighten operations.
Beijing Zhongguancun Bank's digital lending partnership list from September 2025 included Hengrun Guarantee among 28 credit enhancement providers. Latest ratings show the bank's digital personal loans, mostly via partner platforms, grew 25.99% to 32.734 billion yuan, with 72.96% of personal loans and 78.71% of partner-model loans backed by guarantee firms or insurers.
Hengrun Guarantee was initially part of Xiaomi Consumer Finance's list of 31 guarantors in September 2025 but was later removed. Yumin Bank also dropped it and three other firms from its credit enhancement partner list in July 2026.
On Black Cat Complaints, Hengrun Guarantee has accumulated over 1,079 complaints, many citing forced guarantor fees, excessive interest rates, and aggressive collections. One user reported a 35.99% annualized rate, while others noted a stated rate of 11.988% but an actual IRR of 35.5%, far exceeding the 24% regulatory ceiling. The firm has also partnered with platforms like Ilaishuke, with loans funded by banks such as Langfang Bank and Yingkou Bank, often using a dual-guarantor structure.
Industry experts highlight several potential violations. First, Hengrun Guarantee is registered in Guangxi but operates with banks in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Beijing, and Jiangsu. Cross-provincial operations require quarterly reporting to regulators, and it is unclear if these were filed. Second, by splitting interest and guarantor fees, the firm pushes effective rates beyond the 24% legal limit, which the new digital lending rules explicitly prohibit. Third, its fake state-owner background could constitute false advertising, harming consumer rights.
Banks partnering with such firms bear responsibility under the new rules to implement a list-based management system, conduct at least quarterly assessments of guarantor solvency, and ensure compliance with capital adequacy and leverage rules. The fact that Hengrun Guarantee's false shareholder status and numerous complaints went undetected during onboarding and ongoing reviews raises questions about the banks' due diligence. Experts note that even after removing the firm from partner lists, banks remain liable for loans issued during the partnership period, including monitoring, dispute resolution, and credit reporting obligations.
For banks like Yumin that have since terminated Hengrun Guarantee, the responsibility for past loans issued during the collaboration cannot be immediately shed. The industry will continue to monitor how these institutions address the fallout from these partnerships.