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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

Date of event requiring this shell company report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commission file number: 001-37657

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

*      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:

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Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

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 o   No x

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 o   No x

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.

Yes x   No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).

Yes x   No o

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.

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. x

†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 which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

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 o   Item 18 o

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes o   No x

(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 o   No o

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INTRODUCTION

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires in this annual report:

·                  “ADSs” refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents two ordinary shares;

·                  “APR” or “annual percentage rate” refers to the annual rate that is charged to borrowers, including a fixed interest rate and a transaction fee rate, expressed as a single percentage number that represents the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the life of a loan;

·                  “China” or the “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this annual report only, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan;

·                  “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” refers to our ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share;

·                  “payout ratio” refers to the percentage of an investor’s outstanding principal and accrued interest paid out to the investor from our quality assurance program in the event of loan default. We currently implement a 100% payout ratio allowing investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default;

·                  “Online lending information intermediary service providers” refer to marketplaces connecting borrowers and investors;

·                  “prime borrower” refers to credit card holders with stable credit performance and salary income. In determining whether a prospective borrower has stable credit performance and salary income, we review such borrower’s credit card statement for the last six months and/or credit report from the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, for the last five years, as well as the borrower’s salary for the last six months;

·                  “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; and

·                  “Yirendai,” “we,” “us,” “our company” and “our” refer to Yirendai Ltd., its subsidiaries and its consolidated variable interest entities.

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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 and the sufficiency of our quality assurance program;

·                  our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services;

·                  our expectations regarding our relationships with investors and borrowers;

·                  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; 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 3D. Key Information—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.

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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

A.                                    Selected Financial Data

The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016, summary consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2013 and the summary consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 have been derived from our audited 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.

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(1)         Starting from the second quarter of 2016, we changed our reporting currency from the U.S. dollar to the Renminbi, to reduce the impact of increased volatility of the RMB to US$ exchange rate on our reported operating results. The change in our reporting currency has been retroactively reflected for all periods presented herein.

(2)         On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split, such that our authorized share capital of US$50,000 was divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 10,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding and were owned by CreditEase. On June 25, 2015, we issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 each to CreditEase for an aggregate purchase price of US$9,999. The share split and the share issuance have been retroactively reflected for all periods presented herein.

(3)         Each ADS represents two ordinary shares.

Exchange Rate Information

Our business is primarily conducted in China and almost all of our revenues are denominated in RMB. However, periodic reports made to shareholders will include current period amounts translated into U.S. dollars using the then current exchange rates, for the convenience of the readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.9430 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 Statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as of December 30, 2016, the last business day of 2016. 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. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On April 14, 2017, the exchange rate was RMB6.8835 to US$1.00.

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated.

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Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release

(1)         Annual averages are calculated using the average of month-end rates of the relevant year. Monthly averages are calculated using the average of the daily rates during the relevant period.

B.                                    Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C.                                    Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

D.                                    Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

We have a limited operating history in a new and evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.

The market for China’s online consumer finance marketplaces is new and may not develop as expected. The regulatory framework for this market is also evolving and may remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Potential borrowers and investors may not be familiar with this market and may have difficulty distinguishing our services from those of our competitors. Convincing potential new borrowers and investors of the value of our services is critical to increasing the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace and to the success of our business.

We launched our online marketplace in March 2012 and have a limited operating history. In addition, starting in the fourth quarter of 2014, we began offering new loan products with different pricing grades. 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, such as our offering of a quality assurance program starting in January 2015 and the revision to the quality assurance program funding policy in the fourth quarter of 2015, may not achieve expected results and may have a material and adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. 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 have impacts on 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 investors served on our marketplace;

·                  broaden our loan product offerings;

·                  enhance our risk management capabilities;

·                  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;

·                  attract, retain and motivate talented employees; and

·                  defend ourselves against litigation, regulatory, intellectual property, privacy or other claims.

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If we fail to educate potential borrowers and investors about the value of our platform and services, 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 maintain or increase the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace or if we are unable to retain existing borrowers or investors or attract new borrowers or investors, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

The volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace has grown rapidly since our inception. The total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace was RMB20,277.9 million (US$2,920.6 million) in 2016, which increased substantially from RMB9,557.6 million in 2015 and RMB2,228.6 million in 2014. To maintain the high growth momentum of our marketplace, we must continuously increase the volume of loan transactions by retaining current participants and attracting more users. We intend to continue to dedicate significant resources to our user acquisition efforts, including establishing new acquisition channels, particularly as we continue to grow our marketplace and introduce new loan products. We utilize online channels, such as search engine marketing, search engine optimization and partnerships with internet companies, as well as CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network for user acquisition. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 48.1%, 49.5% and 42.5% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively, contributing 59.8%, 67.0% and 61.8% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. If there are insufficient qualified loan requests, investors may be unable to deploy their capital in a timely or efficient manner and may seek other investment opportunities. If there are insufficient investor commitments, borrowers may be unable to obtain capital through our marketplace and may turn to other sources for their borrowing needs and investors who wish to exit their investments prior to maturity on the secondary loan market may not be able to do so in a timely manner.

The overall transaction volume may be affected by several factors, including our brand recognition and reputation, the interest rates offered to borrowers and investors relative to market rates, the effectiveness of our risk control, the repayment rate of borrowers on our marketplace, the efficiency of our platform, the macroeconomic environment and other factors. In connection with the introduction of new products or in response to general economic conditions, we may also impose more stringent borrower qualifications to ensure the quality of loans on our platform, which may negatively affect the growth of loan volume. In addition, although we have entered into a cooperation framework agreement with CreditEase, pursuant to which CreditEase will provide us offline user acquisition services, we cannot assure you that we will continue to receive sufficient support from CreditEase. If any of our current user acquisition channels become 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 attract new borrowers and investors in a cost-effective manner or convert potential borrowers and investors into active borrowers and investors, and may even lose our existing borrowers and investors to our competitors. If we are unable to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient investor commitments or if borrowers and investors do not continue to participate in our marketplace at the current rates, we might be unable to increase our loan transaction volume and revenues as we expect, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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The laws and regulations governing the online lending information intermediary service industry in China are developing and evolving and subject to changes. If we fail to obtain and maintain requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Due to the relatively short history of the online lending information intermediary service industry in China, the PRC government has yet to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework governing our industry. Before any industry-specific regulations were introduced in mid-2015, the PRC government simply relied on general and basic laws and regulations in governing the online lending information intermediary service industry, including the PRC Contract Law, the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC, and related judicial interpretations promulgated by the Supreme People’s Court. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations Relating to Online Lending Information Intermediary.”

In July 2015, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, together with nine other PRC regulatory agencies jointly issued a series of policy measures applicable to the online lending information intermediary service industry titled the Guidelines on Promoting the Healthy Development of Online Finance Industry, or the Guidelines. The Guidelines formally introduced for the first time the regulatory framework and basic principles for administering the online lending information intermediary service industry in China. Based on the core principles of the Guidelines, in August 2016, the CBRC together with three other PRC regulatory agencies jointly issued Interim Measures on Administration of Business Activities of Online Lending Information Intermediaries, or the Interim Measures. The Interim Measures require online lending information intermediaries and their branches that propose to carry out the online lending information intermediary services to file a record with the local financial regulatory department at the place where it is registered within ten business days after obtaining the business license.  Local financial regulatory departments have the power to assess and classify the online lending information intermediaries which have filed a record, and to publicize the record-filing information and the classification results on their official websites.  An online lending information intermediary must apply for appropriate telecommunication business license in accordance with the relevant requirements of telecommunication authorities subsequent to completion of the filing, and is required to explicitly identify itself as an online lending information intermediary in its business scope.

In accordance with the Guidelines and the Interim Measures, the relevant authorities are in the process of making detailed implementation rules regarding, among other things, filing procedures, assessment standards and classification rules for online lending information intermediaries, and specific rules and procedures regarding, among other things, application for appropriate telecommunication business license and change of business scope by existing online lending information intermediaries have yet to be formulated and issued.  We are unable to predict with certainty the impact, if any, that future legislation, judicial precedents, rules or regulations relating to the online lending information intermediary service industry will have on our business, financial condition and results of operations. According to the Circular of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Implementation Plan for Special Rectification on Risks in Internet Financial promulgated in April 2016, competent authorities are in the process of evaluating existing practices of online lending information intermediaries in the market and requesting rectification of those that have been identified during the evaluation as in conflict with the Guidelines and the Interim Measures. We cannot assure you that our practices will not be required to be rectified or our rectification measures and results will be satisfactory to the relevant authorities, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully make filings, obtain and maintain requisite licenses and meet other regulatory requirements set forth in applicable laws, rules and regulations.  To the extent that we fail to conduct our business in a manner required by the relevant authorities, or take rectification measures when required by the relevant authorities, or obtain and maintain any requisite approvals, licenses or permits or meet other requirements applicable to our business, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

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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.

According to the Guidelines issued in 2015 and the Interim Measures issued in 2016 to specifically regulate the online lending information intermediary service industry in China, intermediaries that provide online lending information intermediary services must not engage in certain activities, including, among other things, (i) fund raising for the intermediary itself, (ii) holding investors’ funds or setting up capital pool with investors’ funds, (iii) providing security or guarantee to investors as to the principals and returns of the investments, (iv) issuing or selling any wealth management or other financial products, or acting as an agent in selling financial products, (v) mismatch between an investor’s expected timing of exit and the maturity date, (vi) conducting securitization or equivalent businesses, (vii) promoting its financing products on physical premises other than through the permitted electronic channels, such as telephones, mobile phones and internet, and (viii) equity crowd-funding.  The Interim Measures also require the intermediaries that provide online lending information intermediary services to strength their risk management, enhance screening and verifying efforts on the borrowers and investors’ information, and set up custody accounts with qualified banks to hold customer funds, among other things. We believe the Guidelines and the Interim Measures represent the beginning of the PRC government’s measures to regulate the online lending information intermediary service industry, which will be followed by more implementation rules and regulations. For example, in February 2017, the CBRC issued the Guidelines on Online Lending Funds Custodian Business, or the Custodian Guidelines, which clarify the requirement of setting up custody accounts with commercial banks for the funds of investors held by the online lending platforms. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations Relating to Online Lending Information Intermediary.”

To comply with existing laws, rules and regulations relating to the online lending information intermediary service industry, we have implemented various policies and procedures, which we believe set the best practice in the industry, including, without limitation, the following: (i) we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our online marketplace; (ii) we do not commit to provide guarantees to investors under any agreement for the full return of loan principal and interest; (iii) we do not hold investors’ funds and funds loaned through our platform are deposited into and settled by a third-party custody account managed by a qualified bank, China Guangfa Bank; (iv) Heng Cheng, our variable interest entity operating our online consumer finance marketplace, has obtained the internet information services license, or the ICP license, as an internet information provider, from the relevant local counterpart of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in accordance with applicable laws; (v) we fully disclose on our website all relevant information to investors and borrowers, such as disclosure to borrowers regarding interest rates, payment schedule, transaction fees, and other charges and penalties; and (vi) we have been making strong effort to maintain the security of our platform and the confidentiality of the information provided and utilized across our platform.

However, the laws, rules and regulations are expected to continue to evolve in this emerging industry. The PRC government is expected to provide detailed implementation rules on certain key requirements of the Interim Measures, and the interpretation of the Interim Measures by the local authorities may be different from our understanding. We cannot be certain that our existing practices would not be deemed to violate any existing or future laws, rules and regulations.  For instance,

·                  our automated investing tool automatically allocates committed funds from multiple investors among multiple approved borrowers, which goes beyond the simple one-to-one matching between investors and borrowers and could be viewed as creating mismatch between an investor’s expected timing of exit and the maturity date and offering wealth management products;

·                  if our automated investing tool fails to match committed investors with approved borrowers in a timely manner, we might be deemed to hold investors’ funds and form a capital pool incidentally;

·                  for investor protection purpose, we set up the quality assurance program with the purposes of limiting investors’ potential losses due to borrower defaults. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Risk Management—Investor Protection.” Although the quality assurance program is different from providing investors with guarantees in relation to the return of loan principal and interest, our quality assurance program might be deemed by the PRC regulatory authorities as credit enhancement services or a form of guarantee prohibited by the Interim Measures;

·                  the Interim Measures require that the balance of money borrowed by the same individual must not exceed RMB200,000 (US$28,806) on an online lending  information intermediary platform and not exceed RMB1 million (US$144,030) on all online lending information intermediary platforms in the PRC.  Although we are in the process of adjusting our relevant policy and plan to stop facilitating loans with principal over RMB200,000 (US$28,806) starting from May 1, 2017, certain loans on our platform that have been facilitated in the past have outstanding balance over such limit. In addition, due to lack of industry-wide information sharing arrangement, we cannot assure you that the aggregate amount of loans taken out by a borrower on our platform and other online lending information intermediary platforms at a point in time does not exceed the limit set in the Interim Measures;

·                  we largely rely on referrals from CreditEase’s extensive on-the-ground sales network to acquire borrowers. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 48.1%, 49.5% and 42.5% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively. This practice might be deemed by the PRC regulatory authorities as promoting financing products through offline channels, which is prohibited by the Interim Measures; and

·                  as we are transitioning into a comprehensive online financial services platform, certain independent third parties start to promote and sell wealth management products on our platform. Although we believe such practice does not violate the Interim Measures, as we act as an intermediary for the sellers and the purchasers of the wealth management products and we do not sell any of those products ourselves or act as an agent for the sellers or purchasers, we cannot assure you that the PRC regulatory authorities would take the same view as ours.

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We have been in frequent communications with governmental authorities to clarify these and other regulatory requirements and ensure the full compliance of our business. As of the date of this annual report, we have not been subject to any material fines or other penalties under any PRC laws, rules or regulations including those governing the online lending information intermediary service industry in China. However, if our practice is deemed to violate any laws, rules or regulations, we may face, among others, regulatory warning, correction order, condemnation, fines and criminal liability. If such situations occur, our business, financial condition and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

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 investor base from individual investors to institutional investors, in October 2015 we established a business relationship with a trust, Huijin No. 28 Single Capital Trust E1, or Trust No. 1, in a pilot program, under which Trust No. 1 invested in loans through our platform using funds received from its investor, which is also its sole beneficiary. Trust No. 1 is administered by an independent third-party state-owned trust company, which acts as the trustee, for the purposes of providing returns to its sole beneficiary through extending loans up to an aggregate principal amount of RMB250 million (US$36.0 million) to borrowers recommended by our platform. Trust No. 1’s settlor and sole beneficiary is Fengsheng Private Investment Fund No. 1, or Fund No. 1, a fund managed by Zhe Hao Shanghai Asset Management Company, or Zhe Hao, an affiliate of CreditEase. Fund No. 1’s investors are PRC individuals who are not affiliated with our company. In April 2016, Zhe Hao, on behalf of Fund No. 1, transferred Fund No. 1’s entire beneficiary rights in Trust No. 1 to China International Capital Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle, which subsequently issued and listed RMB250 million asset-backed securities on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China, with the loans invested by Trust No. 1 through our platform as the underlying assets. Heng Ye, one of our PRC subsidiaries, purchased RMB47.5 million (US$6.8 million) asset-backed securities through the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In July 2016, we established a business relationship with another trust, Huijin No. 28 Single Capital Trust E2, or Trust No. 2, which is of the similar structure to Trust No. 1 described above—Trust No. 2 is administered by an independent third-party state-owned trust company and has a fund, CreditEase Wealth Consumer Credit Investment Fund managed by Zhe Hao, or Fund No. 2, as its settlor and sole beneficiary.  Trust No. 2 invested an aggregate of RMB300 million (US$43.2 million) in loans through our online marketplace using the funds raised by its sole beneficiary from ultimate investors, including RMB30 million (US$4.3 million) invested by Heng Cheng, one of our variable interest entities in the PRC. In April 2017, Zhe Hao, on behalf of Fund No. 2, transferred Fund No. 2’s beneficiary rights in Trust No. 2 to Bohai International Trust Co., Ltd., an independent third party, which has subsequently completed an issuance of RMB300 million (US$43.2 million) asset-backed securities through private placements. We purchased an aggregate of RMB102.3 million (US$14.7 million) of the asset-backed securities upon their issuance.

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Although we are not part of the fund-raising process by the trusts or the funds, we cannot assure you that our provision of services to the trusts will not be viewed by PRC regulators as violating any laws or regulations regarding capital pools. Also, we transferred cash to each of the trusts in an amount equal to certain percentage of the entire assets put into the trusts by their respective settlors, which were fully used to invest in loans on our platform, as a security fund to protect the trusts from potential losses from defaults of loans in which the trusts 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 Heng Ye’s purchase of the asset-backed securities through the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Heng Cheng’s subscription to Fund No. 1, the sole beneficiary of Trust No. 1, would not be deemed as investment in loans facilitated through the online marketplace it operates by using its own capital. Furthermore, although we believe Heng Ye’s purchase of the asset-backed securities listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange is not a form of securitization of loan products prohibited by the Interim Measures, we cannot assure you that the PRC regulatory authorities would take the same view as ours. 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.

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.

Investments in loans on our marketplace involve inherent risks as the return of the principal on a loan investment made through our platform is not guaranteed, although we aim to limit investor losses due to borrower defaults to within an industry acceptable range through various preventive measures we have taken or will take. Our ability to attract borrowers and investors 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 an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower. The score will be further used to approve and classify the borrower into one of the four segments in our current pricing grid. If our credit scoring model contains programming or other errors, is ineffective or the data provided by borrowers or third parties is 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. If we are unable to effectively and accurately assess the credit profiles of borrowers, segment borrowers into appropriate grade in the pricing grid, or price loans on our platform appropriately, we may either be unable to offer attractive fee rates to borrowers and returns to investors, or unable to maintain low default rates of loans facilitated by our platform. 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. The borrowers that we currently serve, including those falling under Grade A, B, C and D of our pricing grid, are prime borrowers. If we expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers in the future, we may find it difficult or unable to maintain low default rates of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Although we offer investor protection services in the form of a quality assurance program, if widespread defaults were to occur, investors may still incur losses and lose confidence in our marketplace and our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

If default rates were to increase, we may set aside additional cash in our quality assurance program and recognize additional expenses and liabilities on our financial statements, which could have a material adverse effect on our working capital, financial condition, results of operations and business operations. We also may not have or generate sufficient cash to replenish our quality assurance program when necessary. In addition, because we offer investor protection in the form of a quality assurance program, high default rates would adversely affect the profitability of our loan products. Particularly, as our Grade A loans have an average transaction fee rate of 5.6%, which is lower than the average transaction fee rates for our other grades of loans, any failure to achieve a low default rate for our Grade A loans will diminish our profit margin and may even cause us to incur losses. Historically, Grade A loans have been unprofitable. For the historical lifetime cumulative M3+ Net Charge-off Rates for all loan products facilitated through our platform, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Major Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Effectiveness of Risk Management.”

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We have limited experience operating our quality assurance program. If it is under- or over-funded, or if we fail to accurately forecast the expected quality assurance program net payouts or otherwise implement the quality assurance program successfully, our financial results and competitive position may be harmed.

We have limited experience operating our new quality assurance program, which was launched in January 2015. We set aside a certain amount of cash in an interest-bearing custody account. In the event that a loan defaults, we withdraw funds from the custody account to repay investors the principal and accrued interest for the defaulted loan.

Since we commenced our online consumer finance business only in March 2012, we have limited information regarding the default rates on loans facilitated through our platform. In addition, given our limited operating history and introduction of new products, we have limited information on historical charge-off rates, and we may not be able to accurately forecast charge-offs for our target borrower group. Given these challenges, it is possible that we will under- or over-fund our quality assurance program. If we under-fund our quality assurance program, and we do not or are unable to replenish the quality assurance program to a sufficient level in time, investors may not be fully protected from loss. This may result in negative sentiment among investors, potentially hindering our ability to retain existing investors as well as to attract new investors, and investors may bring claims against us, whether or not they have legal rights to seek damages from us, which could lead to additional expenses and distract management’s attention from our business operation. Conversely, if we over-fund our quality assurance program, this will reduce the amount of our working capital, as we cannot use the funds set aside in the quality assurance program for our operations, and cause us to lose business opportunities. Should any of the foregoing occur, our competitive position as well as our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

For the first three quarters of 2015, the amount of cash we set aside for the quality assurance program is not sufficient to cover all expected net payouts for loans facilitated during this period. In the fourth quarter of 2015, we revised our quality assurance program funding policy. In 2016, we set aside sufficient cash in the quality assurance program to cover the expected net payouts.

The funding and operation of quality assurance program may have a material impact on our financial condition. A significant increase in our expected quality assurance program net payouts will have a negative impact on our net revenues and net income. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Selected Statements of Operations Items—Quality Assurance Program”.

In addition, subject to the terms and limits in our agreements with investors, we currently allow investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default. As the industry continues to evolve and becomes more sophisticated, we may revisit our policy or the terms on which we offer the quality assurance program so that investors may recover less than 100% of the outstanding principal and accrued interest. However, if our estimate of the industry trend or market acceptance is not correct, any such reduction in quality assurance payout ratio may also cause negative sentiment among investors, potentially hindering our ability to retain existing investors as well as to attract new investors, and causing a material adverse impact on our competitive position and results of operations.

If our loan products do not achieve sufficient market acceptance, our financial results and competitive position will be harmed.

We incur expenses and consume resources upfront to develop, acquire and market new loan products. For example, we have developed four different segments in our current pricing grid, which we refer to as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D loans in this annual report. We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A since our inception. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we raised the minimum borrower qualification standards for Grade A loans, and started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014 and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. For a more detailed description of the four pricing 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.

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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 investors 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

·                  the introduction or anticipated introduction of competing products by our competitors.

Another example is the automated investing tool that we offer to investors. With our automated investing tool, an investor may lend to borrowers on our marketplace for a specified period of time, and the investor’s funds are automatically allocated among approved borrowers. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that there may be a mismatch between the investor’s expected timing of exit and the maturity date of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds. Investors using our automated investing tool typically invest for a shorter period than the terms of the underlying loans. If we are unable to find another investor to take over the remainder of the loans from the original investor that uses our automated investing tool at the time of his expected exit, then the original investor will have to remain invested in the loans and his expectation of liquidity would not be satisfied. If such mismatches occur in a widespread manner, investor acceptance of or satisfaction with our automatic investing tool would be adversely impacted.

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.

If we do not compete effectively, our results of operations could be harmed.

The online consumer finance marketplace industry in China is intensely competitive and evolving. We compete with a large number consumer finance marketplaces. We also compete with financial products and companies that attract borrowers, investors or both. With respect to borrowers, we primarily compete with traditional financial institutions, such as consumer finance business units in commercial banks, credit card issuers and other consumer finance companies. With respect to investors, we primarily compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, bank savings accounts, real estate and alternative asset classes.

Our competitors operate with different business models, have different cost structures or participate selectively in different market segments. They may ultimately prove more successful or more adaptable to new regulatory, technological and other developments. Some of our current and potential competitors have significantly more financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their platforms. Our competitors may also have longer operating histories, more extensive borrower or investor bases, greater brand recognition and brand loyalty and broader partner relationships than us. Additionally, a current or potential competitor may acquire one or more of our existing competitors or form a strategic alliance with one or more of our competitors. Our competitors may be better at developing new products, offering more attractive investment returns or lower fees, responding faster to new technologies and undertaking more extensive and effective marketing campaigns. In response to competition and in order to grow or maintain the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace, we may have to offer higher investment return to investors or charge lower transaction fees, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. If we are unable to compete with such companies and meet the need for innovation in our industry, the demand for our marketplace could stagnate or substantially decline, we could experience reduced revenues or our marketplace could fail to achieve or maintain more widespread market acceptance, any of which could harm our business and results of operations.

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If we fail to promote and maintain our brand in an effective and cost-efficient way, our business and results of operations may be harmed.

We believe that developing and maintaining awareness of our brand effectively is critical to attracting new and retaining existing borrowers and investors to our marketplace. Successful promotion of our brand and our ability to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient investors depend largely on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and the success of the channels we use to promote our marketplace. Our efforts to build our brand have caused us to incur significant expenses, and it is likely that our future marketing efforts will require us to incur significant additional expenses. These efforts may not result in increased revenues in the immediate future or at all and, even if they do, any increases in revenues may not offset the expenses incurred. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand while incurring substantial expenses, our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected, which may impair our ability to grow our business.

Credit and other information that we receive from third parties about a borrower may be inaccurate or may not accurately reflect the borrower’s creditworthiness, which may compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment.

For the purpose of credit assessment, we obtain borrower credit information from third parties, such as financial institutions and e-commerce providers, and assess applicants’ credit and assign credit scores to borrowers based on such credit information. A credit score assigned to a borrower may not reflect that particular borrower’s actual creditworthiness because the credit score may be based on outdated, incomplete or inaccurate consumer reporting data. Although we do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time, we currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance marketplaces, creating the risk whereby a borrower may borrow money through our platform in order to pay off loans to investors on other platforms. Additionally, there is a risk that, following our obtaining a borrower’s credit information, the borrower may have:

·                  become delinquent in the payment of an outstanding obligation;

·                  defaulted on a pre-existing debt obligation;

·                  taken on additional debt; or

·                  sustained other adverse financial events.

Such inaccurate or incomplete borrower credit information could compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment and adversely affect the effectiveness of our control over our default rates, which could in turn harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our business of connecting investors and individual borrowers may constitute an intermediary service, and our contracts with these investors and borrowers may be deemed as intermediation contracts, under the PRC Contract Law. Under the PRC Contract Law, an intermediary may not claim for service fee and is liable for damages if it conceals any material fact intentionally or provides false information in connection with the conclusion of an intermediation contract, which results in harm to the client’s interests. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations Relating to Online Lending Information Intermediary—Regulations on Loans between Individuals.” Therefore, if we fail to provide material information to investors, or if we fail to identify false information received from borrowers or others and in turn provide such information to investors, and in either case if we are also found to be at fault, due to failure or deemed failure to exercise proper care, such as to conduct adequate information verification or employee supervision, we could be held liable for damages caused to investors as an intermediary pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. In addition, if we fail to complete our obligations under the agreements entered into with investors and borrowers, we could also be held liable for damages caused to borrowers or investors pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. On the other hand, we do not assume any liability solely on the basis of failure to correctly assign a loan grade to a particular borrower in the process of facilitating a loan transaction, as long as we do not conceal any material fact intentionally or provide false information, and are not found to be at fault otherwise. However, due to the lack of detailed regulations and guidance in the area of online lending information intermediary services and the possibility that the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating online lending information intermediary services in the future, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations for the online lending information intermediary service industry, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government authority will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us.

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Any harm to our brand or reputation or any damage to the reputation of the online consumer finance marketplace industry may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Enhancing the recognition and reputation of our brand is critical to our business and competitiveness. Factors that are vital to this objective include but are not limited to our ability to:

·                  maintain the quality and reliability of our platform;

·                  provide borrowers and investors with a superior experience in our marketplace;

·                  enhance and improve our credit assessment and decision-making models;

·                  effectively manage and resolve borrower and investor complaints; and

·                  effectively protect personal information and privacy of borrowers and investors.

Our brand and reputation may also be negatively affected if the guarantee company providing guarantees to the loans we facilitated between August 2013 and December 2014 fails to repay the principal and accrued interest on defaulted loans pursuant to the terms of the guarantee arrangement. Any malicious or innocent negative allegation made by the media or other parties about the foregoing or other aspects of our company, including but not limited to our management, business, compliance with law, financial condition or prospects, whether with merit or not, could severely hurt our reputation and harm our business and operating results. As the market for China’s online consumer finance marketplaces is new and the regulatory framework for this market is also evolving, negative publicity about this industry may arise from time to time. Negative publicity about China’s online consumer finance marketplace industry in general may also have a negative impact on our reputation, regardless of whether we have engaged in any inappropriate activities.

In addition, certain factors that may adversely affect our reputation are beyond our control. Negative publicity about our partners, outsourced service providers or other counterparties, such as negative publicity about their debt collection practices and any failure by them to adequately protect the information of borrowers and investors, to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to otherwise meet required quality and service standards could harm our reputation. Furthermore, any negative development in the online consumer finance marketplace industry, such as bankruptcies or failures of other consumer finance marketplaces, and especially a large number of such bankruptcies or failures, or negative perception of the industry as a whole, such as that arises from any failure of other consumer finance marketplaces to detect or prevent money laundering or other illegal activities, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could compromise our image, undermine the trust and credibility we have established and impose a negative impact on our ability to attract new borrowers and investors. Negative developments in the online consumer finance marketplace industry, such as widespread borrower defaults, fraudulent behavior and/or the closure of other online consumer finance marketplaces, may also lead to tightened regulatory scrutiny of the sector and limit the scope of permissible business activities that may be conducted by online consumer finance marketplaces like us. If any of the foregoing takes place, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

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We have incurred net losses in the past and may incur net losses in the future.

We had net losses of RMB27.7 million in 2014 and recorded accumulated deficits of RMB90.4 million as of December 31, 2014. Although we had net income of RMB275.3 million and RMB1,116.4 million (US$160.8 million) in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and retained earnings of RMB184.9 million and RMB1,177.1 million (US$169.5 million) as of December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to generate net income or will have retained earnings in the future. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we seek to continue to grow our business, attract borrowers, investors and partners and further enhance and develop our loan products and platform. These efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. There are other factors that could negatively affect our financial condition. For example, the default rates of the loans facilitated through our platform may be higher than expected, which may lead to lower than expected net revenues and additional expenses in connection with the higher than expected net payouts from the quality assurance program. Furthermore, we have adopted a share incentive plan, and we may grant equity-based awards to eligible participants from time to time under the plan, which will result in share-based compensation expenses to us. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, our net revenue growth may slow, our net income margins may decline or we may incur additional net losses in the future and may not be able to maintain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. In addition, our net revenue growth rate will likely decline as our net revenue grows to higher levels.

Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.

Our quarterly results of operations, including the levels of our net revenues, expenses, net (loss)/income and other key metrics, may vary significantly in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, especially given our limited operating history. Accordingly, the results for any one quarter are not necessarily an indication of future performance. Fluctuations in quarterly results may adversely affect the price of our ADSs. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results include:

·                  our ability to attract new borrowers and investors and maintain relationships with existing borrowers and investors;

·                  loan volumes and the channels through which borrowers and investors are sourced, including the relative mix of online and offline channels;

·                  increases in quality assurance program liability related to additional provisional expenses for increases in expected net payout;

·                  changes in our product mix and introduction of new loan products;

·                  our actual and expected quality assurance program net payouts for loans facilitated through our platform and the amount we set aside in the quality assurance program;

·                  the amount and timing of operating expenses related to acquiring borrowers and investors such as the amount of referral fee CreditEase charges us for borrower acquisition, and the maintenance and expansion of our business, operations and infrastructure;

·                  our decision to manage loan volume growth during the period;

·                  network outages or security breaches;

·                  general economic, industry and market conditions;

·                  our emphasis on borrower and investor experience instead of near-term growth; and

·                  the timing of expenses related to the development or acquisition of technologies or businesses.

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In addition, we experience seasonality in our business, reflecting seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional personal consumption patterns, as our individual borrowers typically use their borrowing proceeds to finance their personal consumption needs. For example, we generally experience lower transaction value on our online consumer finance marketplace during national holidays in China, particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday season in the first quarter of each year. While our rapid growth has somewhat masked this seasonality, our results of operations could be affected by such seasonality in the future.

Failure to manage our liquidity and cash flows may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We generated negative cash flows from operating activities of RMB227.0 million in 2014, and positive cash flows from operating activities of RMB861.3 million and RMB2,113.4 million (US$304.4 million) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Our cash generated from operating activities primarily includes the transaction fees from borrowers. Historically, borrowers paid the transaction fees primarily on a monthly basis over the term of the loan, which has contributed to our generating negative cash flows from operating activities. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we adopted a new fee collection schedule whereby we either collect the entire amount of the transaction fee upfront upon completion of our loan facilitation services, or collect a portion of the transaction fee upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. However, we cannot assure you the new fee collection schedule will improve our cash position. Inability to collect payments from customers, borrowers in particular, in a timely and sufficient manner may adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, in the first three quarters of 2015, the amount of cash we set aside for the quality assurance program is not sufficient to cover all expected net payouts for loans facilitated during this period. In the event the actual or expected quality assurance program net payouts are higher than the quality assurance program balance, we will or may need to, as the case may be, increase the amount of cash that is available in our quality assurance program, which may have a material adverse effect on our working capital.

Our reputation may be harmed if information supplied by borrowers is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, including if the borrowers use the loan proceeds for purposes other than as originally provided.

Borrowers supply a variety of information that is included in the loan listings on our marketplace. We do not verify all the information we receive from borrowers, and such information may be inaccurate or incomplete. For example, we often do not verify a borrower’s home ownership status or intended use of loan proceeds, and the borrower may use loan proceeds for other purposes with increased risk than as originally provided. Moreover, investors do not, and will not, have access to detailed financial information about borrowers. If investors invest in loans through our platform based on information supplied by borrowers that is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, those investors may not receive their expected returns and our reputation may be harmed. Moreover, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete borrower information could also potentially subject us to liability as an intermediary under the PRC Contract Law. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations Relating to Online Lending Information Intermediary—Regulations on Loans between Individuals” below.

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Fraudulent activity on our marketplace could negatively impact our operating results, brand and reputation and cause the use of our loan products and services to decrease.

We are subject to the risk of fraudulent activity both on our marketplace and associated with borrowers, investors and third parties handling borrower and investor information. For example, we detected an organized fraud incident concerning our FastTrack loan products in July 2016. After uncovering the fraud incident, we had suspended the offering of the FastTrack loan products until late July 2016 when we implemented more stringent requirements aiming to prevent similar type of fraud incidents. Our resources, technologies and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately detect and prevent fraud. Significant increases in fraudulent activity could negatively impact our brand and reputation, reduce the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our platform and lead us to take additional steps to reduce fraud risk, which would increase our costs. High profile fraudulent activity could even lead to regulatory intervention, and may divert our management’s attention and cause us to incur additional expenses and costs. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.

Successful strategic relationships with partners are important for our future success.

We anticipate that we will continue to leverage our strategic relationships with existing partners in China’s online consumer finance marketplace industry to grow our business while we will also pursue new relationships with additional partners such as traditional financial institutions and merchants in more sectors. For example, in the future, we may partner with traditional financial institutions to combine the efficiency advantages of online consumer finance marketplaces with the low funding costs of traditional financial institutions. Identifying, negotiating and documenting relationships with partners requires significant time and resources as does integrating third-party data and services into our system. Our current agreements with partners often do not prohibit them from working with our competitors or from offering competing services. Our competitors may be effective in providing incentives to our partners to favor their products or services, which may in turn reduce the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Certain types of partners may devote more resources to support their own competing businesses. In addition, these partners may not perform as expected under our agreements with them, and we may have disagreements or disputes with such partners, which could adversely affect our brand and reputation. If we cannot successfully enter into and maintain effective strategic relationships with business partners, our business will be harmed.

Misconduct, errors and failure to function by our employees and third-party service providers could harm our business and reputation.

We are exposed to many types of operational risks, including the risk of misconduct and errors by our employees and third-party service providers. Our business depends on our employees and third-party service providers to interact with potential borrowers and investors, process large numbers of transactions and support the loan collection process, all of which involve the use and disclosure of personal information. We could be materially adversely affected if transactions were redirected, misappropriated or otherwise improperly executed, if personal information was disclosed to unintended recipients or if an operational breakdown or failure in the processing of transactions occurred, whether as a result of human error, purposeful sabotage or fraudulent manipulation of our operations or systems. In addition, the manner in which we store and use certain personal information and interact with borrowers and investors through our marketplace is governed by various PRC laws. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct or errors by employees or third-party service providers, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses. If any of our employees or third-party service providers take, convert or misuse funds, documents or data or fail to follow protocol when interacting with borrowers and investors, we could be liable for damages and subject to regulatory actions and penalties. We could also be perceived to have facilitated or participated in the illegal misappropriation of funds, documents or data, or the failure to follow protocol, and therefore be subject to civil or criminal liability. In addition, we currently rely on CreditEase and in the future may continue to rely on CreditEase or other third-party service providers for loan collection services. Aggressive practices or misconduct by any of our third-party service providers, including CreditEase, in the course of collecting loans could damage our reputation.

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Furthermore, as we rely on certain third-party service providers, such as third-party payment platforms and custody and settlement service providers, to conduct our business, if these third-party service providers failed to function properly, we cannot assure you that we would be able to find an alternative in a timely and cost-efficient manner or at all. Any of these occurrences could result in our diminished ability to operate our business, potential liability to borrowers and investors, inability to attract borrowers and investors, reputational damage, regulatory intervention and financial harm, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Fluctuations in interest rates could negatively affect transaction volume.

All loans facilitated through our marketplace are issued with fixed interest rates. If interest rates rise, investors who have already committed capital may lose the opportunity to take advantage of the higher rates. If interest rates decrease after a loan is made, borrowers through our platform may prepay their loans to take advantage of the lower rates. Investors through our platform would lose the opportunity to collect the above-market interest rates payable on the prepaid loans and might delay or reduce future loan investments. As a result, fluctuations in the interest rate environment may discourage investors and borrowers from participating in our marketplace, which may adversely affect our business.

A severe or prolonged downturn in the Chinese or global economy could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese or global economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In particular, general economic factors and conditions in China or worldwide, including the general interest rate environment and unemployment rates, may affect borrower willingness to seek loans and investor ability and desire to invest in loans. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and there are new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis from 2011, the end of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the economic slowdown in the Eurozone in 2014 and the expected exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The Chinese economy has slowed down since 2012 and such slowdown may continue.   There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in financial and other markets. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of the tensions in the relationship between China and other countries, including the surrounding Asian countries. If the Chinese and global economic uncertainties persist, many of our investors may delay or reduce their investment in the loans facilitated through our platform. Adverse economic conditions could also reduce the number of qualified borrowers seeking loans on our platform, as well as their ability to make payments. Should any of these situations occur, the amount of loans facilitated through our platform and our net revenues will decline, and our business and financial condition will be negatively impacted. Additionally, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

We may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

In 2014, our principal sources of liquidity were advances from our parent company, CreditEase, representing operating costs and expenses paid or borne by the various entities affiliated with CreditEase on our behalf, as our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase as a business unit under CreditEase at the time. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and we will not have such advances from CreditEase going forward. As of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016, we had cash and cash equivalents of RMB1.4 million, RMB846.1 million and RMB968.2 million (US$139.4 million), respectively. Although we believe that our anticipated cash flows from operating activities will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital requirements and capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business for the next 12 months, we cannot assure you this will be the case. We may need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments. We may also need additional cash resources in the future if we find and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. If we determine that our cash requirements exceed the amount of cash and cash equivalents we have on hand at the time, we may seek to issue equity or debt securities or obtain credit facilities. The issuance and sale of additional equity would result in further dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could result in operating covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

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Our ability to protect the confidential information of our borrowers and investors may be adversely affected by cyber-attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or similar disruptions.

Our platform collects, stores and processes certain personal and other sensitive data from our borrowers and investors, which makes it an attractive target and potentially vulnerable to cyber attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or similar disruptions. While we have taken steps to protect the confidential information that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. Because techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Any accidental or willful security breaches or other unauthorized access to our platform could cause confidential borrower and investor information to be stolen and used for criminal purposes. Security breaches or unauthorized access to confidential information could also expose us to liability related to the loss of the information, time-consuming and expensive litigation and negative publicity. If security measures are breached because of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, or if design flaws in our technology infrastructure are exposed and exploited, our relationships with borrowers and investors could be severely damaged, we could incur significant liability and our business and operations could be adversely affected.

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.

We are subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rules require that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2016. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures.”

In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In the future, our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue an adverse opinion audit report if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

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Our operations depend on the performance of the internet infrastructure and fixed telecommunications networks in China.

Almost all access to the internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT. We primarily rely on a limited number of telecommunication service providers to provide us with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s internet infrastructure or the fixed telecommunications networks provided by telecommunication service providers. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our platform. We cannot assure you that the internet infrastructure and the fixed telecommunications networks in China will be able to support the demands associated with the continued growth in internet usage.

In addition, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunication service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be adversely affected. Furthermore, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our user traffic may decline and our business may be harmed.

Any significant disruption in service on our platform or in our computer systems, including events beyond our control, could prevent us from processing or posting loans on our marketplace, reduce the attractiveness of our marketplace and result in a loss of borrowers or investors.

In the event of a platform outage and physical data loss, our ability to perform our servicing obligations, process applications or make loans available on our marketplace would be materially and adversely affected. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our platform and our underlying network infrastructure are critical to our operations, customer service, reputation and our ability to retain existing and attract new borrowers and investors. Much of our system hardware is hosted in a leased facility located in Beijing that is operated by our IT Staff. We also maintain a real-time backup system at a separate facility also located in Beijing. Our operations depend on our ability to protect our systems against damage or interruption from natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, air quality issues, environmental conditions, computer viruses or attempts to harm our systems, criminal acts and similar events. If there is a lapse in service or damage to our leased Beijing facilities, we could experience interruptions in our service as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities.

Any interruptions or delays in our service, whether as a result of third-party error, our error, natural disasters or security breaches, whether accidental or willful, could harm our relationships with our borrowers and investors and our reputation. Additionally, in the event of damage or interruption, our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses that we may incur. Our disaster recovery plan has not been tested under actual disaster conditions, and we may not have sufficient capacity to recover all data and services in the event of an outage. These factors could prevent us from processing or posting payments on loans, damage our brand and reputation, divert our employees’ attention, subject us to liability and cause borrowers and investors to abandon our marketplace, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical, and if it contains undetected errors, our business could be adversely affected.

Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical and complex. In addition, our platform and internal systems depend on the ability of such software to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. The software on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Errors or other design defects within the software on which we rely may result in a negative experience for borrowers and investors using our platform, delay introductions of new features or enhancements, result in errors or compromise our ability to protect borrower or investor data or our intellectual property. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of borrowers or investors or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.

We regard our trademarks, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and contractual arrangements, including confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. We have made application for two trademarks and for the transfer of five trademarks from CreditEase to us, all of which are pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have also obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, which CreditEase is in the process of transferring to us. As of the date of this annual report, a total of six trademarks have been transferred to us by CreditEase. However, the trademark licenses granted by CreditEase to us have not been filed with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Intellectual Property” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulation on Intellectual Property Rights.” Thus, we cannot assure you that any of our intellectual property rights would not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property will be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, because of the rapid pace of technological change in our industry, parts of our business rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties on reasonable terms, or at all.

It is often difficult to register, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights in China. Statutory laws and regulations are subject to judicial interpretation and enforcement and may not be applied consistently due to the lack of clear guidance on statutory interpretation. Confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements may be breached by counterparties, and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or to enforce our contractual rights in China. Preventing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and the steps we take may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We can provide no assurance that we will prevail in such litigation. In addition, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors. To the extent that our employees or consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related know-how and inventions. Any failure in protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be from time to time in the future subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be third-party trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights that are infringed by our products, services or other aspects of our business without our awareness. Holders of such intellectual property rights may seek to enforce such intellectual property rights against us in China, the United States or other jurisdictions. If any third-party infringement claims are brought against us, we may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these claims, regardless of their merits.

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Additionally, the application and interpretation of China’s intellectual property right laws and the procedures and standards for granting trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights in China are still evolving and are uncertain, and we cannot assure you that PRC courts or regulatory authorities would agree with our analysis. If we were found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

From time to time we may evaluate and potentially consummate strategic investments or acquisitions, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business and adversely affect our financial results.

We may evaluate and consider strategic investments, combinations, acquisitions or alliances to further increase the value of our marketplace and better serve borrowers and investors. These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations if consummated. If we are able to identify an appropriate business opportunity, we may not be able to successfully consummate the transaction and, even if we do consummate such a transaction, we may be unable to obtain the benefits or avoid the difficulties and risks of such transaction.

Strategic investments or acquisitions will involve risks commonly encountered in business relationships, including:

·                  difficulties in assimilating and integrating the operations, personnel, systems, data, technologies, products and services of the acquired business;

·                  inability of the acquired technologies, products or businesses to achieve expected levels of revenue, profitability, productivity or other benefits;

·                  difficulties in retaining, training, motivating and integrating key personnel;

·                  diversion of management’s time and resources from our normal daily operations;

·                  difficulties in successfully incorporating licensed or acquired technology and rights into our platform and loan products;

·                  difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies within the combined organizations;

·                  difficulties in retaining relationships with customers, employees and suppliers of the acquired business;

·                  risks of entering markets in which we have limited or no prior experience;

·                  regulatory risks, including remaining in good standing with existing regulatory bodies or receiving any necessary pre-closing or post-closing approvals, as well as being subject to new regulators with oversight over an acquired business;

·                  assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights or increase our risk for liability;

·                  failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology;

·                  liability for activities of the acquired business before the acquisition, including intellectual property infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities;

·                  potential disruptions to our ongoing businesses; and

·                  unexpected costs and unknown risks and liabilities associated with strategic investments or acquisitions.

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We may not make any investments or acquisitions, or any future investments or acquisitions may not be successful, may not benefit our business strategy, may not generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated acquisition costs or may not otherwise result in the intended benefits. In addition, we cannot assure you that any future investment in or acquisition of new businesses or technology will lead to the successful development of new or enhanced loan products and services or that any new or enhanced loan products and services, if developed, will achieve market acceptance or prove to be profitable.

Our business depends on the continued efforts of our senior management. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our business may be severely disrupted.

Our business operations depend on the continued services of our senior management, particularly the executive officers named in this annual report. While we have provided different incentives to our management, we cannot assure you that we can continue to retain their services. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, our future growth may be constrained, our business may be severely disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. In addition, although we have entered into confidentiality and non-competition agreements with our management, there is no assurance that any member of our management team will not join our competitors or form a competing business. If any dispute arises between our current or former officers and us, we may have to incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce such agreements in China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

Competition for employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the qualified and skilled employees needed to support our business.

We believe our success depends on the efforts and talent of our employees, including risk management, software engineering, financial and marketing personnel. Our future success depends on our continued ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain qualified and skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled technical, risk management and financial personnel is extremely intense. We may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Some of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment.

In addition, we invest significant time and expenses in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our services and our ability to serve borrowers and investors could diminish, resulting in a material adverse effect to our business.

Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The economy in China has experienced increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, average wages in the PRC are expected to continue to increase. In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pension, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to control our labor costs or pass on these increased labor costs to our users by increasing the fees of our services, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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If we cannot maintain our corporate culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, collaboration and focus that contribute to our business.

We believe that a critical component of our success is our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, encourages teamwork and cultivates creativity. As we develop the infrastructure of a public company and continue to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain these valuable aspects of our corporate culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively impact our future success, including our ability to attract and retain employees, encourage innovation and teamwork and effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.

We do not have any business insurance coverage.

Insurance companies in China currently do not offer as extensive an array of insurance products as insurance companies in more developed economies. Currently, we do not have any business liability or disruption insurance to cover our operations. We have determined that the costs of insuring for these risks and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. Any uninsured business disruptions may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

We are vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities. Fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, war, riots, terrorist attacks or similar events may give rise to server interruptions, breakdowns, system failures, technology platform failures or internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to provide products and services on our platform.

Our business could also be adversely affected by the effects of Zika virus, Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, or other epidemics. Our business operations could be disrupted if any of our employees is suspected of having Zika virus, Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, SARS or other epidemic, since it could require our employees to be quarantined and/or our offices to be disinfected. In addition, our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that any of these epidemics harms the Chinese economy in general.

Risks Related to Our Carve-out from CreditEase and Our Relationship with CreditEase

We rely on our parent company, CreditEase, for the successful operation of our business.

We have limited experience operating as a stand-alone company. We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012, and Yirendai Ltd. was incorporated in 2014 in the Cayman Islands as a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase. Founded in 2006 by our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Inclusive finance focuses on providing access to affordable and responsible financing solutions to those in China who are often unable to gain such access. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015. Historically, CreditEase has provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, and also with the services of a number of its executives and employees. Although we have become a stand-alone company, we expect CreditEase to continue to provide us with certain support services during a transitional period. We have also relied on CreditEase for the successful operation of our online consumer finance marketplace. In the future, we expect to continue to rely on CreditEase for various aspects of our operations, such as risk management, offline acquisition of new borrowers and investors and outstanding loan collection services. Although we have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase relating to our ongoing business cooperation and service arrangements with CreditEase, we cannot assure you that we will continue to receive the same level of support from CreditEase after we become a stand-alone company. The cost of services which CreditEase provides to us may from time to time increase based on commercial negotiations between CreditEase and us. For example, pursuant to our contractual agreement with CreditEase, the fee rate for the offline borrower acquisition services which CreditEase provides to us has recently increased from 5% to 6% of the loans facilitated to borrowers referred by CreditEase for the three years starting 2016. After that, the fee rate may be adjusted on a yearly basis based on commercial negotiation, and after taking into consideration the costs to CreditEase for providing such services and with reference to market rates. Furthermore, borrowers, investors and business partners may react negatively to our carve-out from CreditEase. As such, our carve-out from CreditEase may materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, as a result of our carve-out from CreditEase, our historical growth and financial performance may not be indicative of our future performances as a stand-alone public company.

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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.

Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. Since we and the subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase that operated our online marketplace business are under common control of CreditEase, our consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows that were directly attributable to our business for all periods presented. In particular, our consolidated balance sheets include those assets and liabilities that are specifically identifiable to our business; and our consolidated statements of operations include all costs and expenses related to us, including costs and expenses allocated from CreditEase to us. Allocations from CreditEase, including amounts allocated to origination and servicing expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, were made using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. We made numerous estimates, assumptions and allocations in our historical financial statements because we did not operate as a stand-alone company prior to our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015. Although our management believes that the assumptions underlying our historical financial statements and the above allocations are reasonable, our historical financial statements may not necessarily reflect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows as if we had operated as a stand-alone company during those periods. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions” for our arrangements with CreditEase and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report for our historical cost allocation. In addition, upon becoming a stand-alone company, we have established our own financial, administrative and other support systems to replace CreditEase’s systems, the cost of which may have been significantly different from cost allocation with CreditEase for the same services. Therefore, you should not view our historical results as indicators of our future performance.

Any negative development in CreditEase’s market position, brand recognition or financial condition may materially and adversely affect our marketing efforts and the strength of our brand.

Prior to our initial public offering, we were a wholly-owned subsidiary of CreditEase, and after our initial public offering, CreditEase remains as our controlling shareholder. We have benefited significantly and expect to continue to benefit significantly from our association with CreditEase in marketing our brand and our marketplace. Referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network currently accounts for a majority of our borrowers and loan volume. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 48.1%, 49.5% and 42.5% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively, contributing 59.8%, 67.0% and 61.8% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. If user referrals through CreditEase decrease or become less effective, the quality of the borrowers referred by CreditEase does not meet our borrower qualification standards, or if we are unable to continue to use CreditEase as a user acquisition channel for any reason, our business and results of operations may be adversely and materially affected. Although transaction values through online consumer finance marketplaces in China are expected to grow from RMB4.6 billion in 2014 to RMB247.6 billion in 2019, according to iResearch, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find other user acquisition channels to replace referrals from CreditEase on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We also benefit from CreditEase’s strong brand recognition in China, which provides us credibility and a broad marketing reach. If CreditEase loses its market position, the effectiveness of our marketing efforts through our association with CreditEase may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, any negative publicity associated with CreditEase or any negative development in respect of CreditEase’s market position, financial condition, or in terms of compliance with legal or regulatory requirements in China, will likely have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of our marketing as well as our reputation and brand.

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Our agreements with CreditEase may be less favorable to us than similar agreements negotiated between unaffiliated third parties. In particular, our non-competition agreement with CreditEase limits the scope of business that we are allowed to conduct.

We have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase and the terms of such agreements may be less favorable to us than would be the case if they were negotiated with unaffiliated third parties. In particular, under our non-competition agreement with CreditEase, we agree during the non-competition period, which will end on the earlier of (i) one year after the control ending date or (ii) the fifteenth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, not to compete with CreditEase in the business currently conducted by CreditEase, other than the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and any other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time. The control ending date refers to the earlier of (i) the first date when CreditEase no longer owns at least 20% of the voting power of our then outstanding securities or (ii) the first date when CreditEase ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of our then outstanding voting securities. Such contractual limitations may significantly affect our ability to diversify our revenue sources and may materially and adversely impact our business and prospects should the growth of online consumer finance marketplace industry in China slow down. In addition, pursuant to our master transaction agreement with CreditEase, we agree to indemnify CreditEase for liabilities arising from litigation and other contingencies related to our business and assumed these liabilities as part of our carve-out from CreditEase. The allocation of assets and liabilities between CreditEase and our company may not reflect the allocation that would have been reached by two unaffiliated parties. Moreover, so long as CreditEase continues to control us, we may not be able to bring a legal claim against CreditEase in the event of contractual breach, notwithstanding our contractual rights under the agreements described above and other inter-company agreements entered into from time to time.

CreditEase will control the outcome of shareholder actions in our company.

As of March 31, 2017, CreditEase held 83.6% of our outstanding ordinary shares and total voting power. CreditEase’s voting power gives it the power to control certain actions that require shareholder approval under Cayman Islands law, our current memorandum and articles of association and NYSE requirements, including approval of mergers and other business combinations, changes to our memorandum and articles of association, the number of shares available for issuance under any share incentive plans, and the issuance of significant amounts of our ordinary shares in private placements.

CreditEase’s voting control may cause transactions that might not be beneficial to the holders of our ADSs to occur and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to the holders of our ADSs. For example, CreditEase’s voting control may prevent a transaction involving a change of control of us, including transactions in which a holder of our ADSs might otherwise receive a premium for the securities held by such holder over the then-current market price. In addition, CreditEase is not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in us to a third party and may do so without the approval of the holders of our ADSs and without providing for a purchase of the ADSs. If CreditEase is acquired or otherwise undergoes a change of control, any acquirer or successor will be entitled to exercise the voting control and contractual rights of CreditEase, and may do so in a manner that could vary significantly from that of CreditEase. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise. See “—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.”

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.

Conflicts of interest may arise between CreditEase and us in a number of areas relating to our ongoing relationships. Potential conflicts of interest that we have identified include the following:

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·                  Non-competition arrangements with CreditEase. We and CreditEase have entered into a non-competition agreement under which we agree not to compete with each other’s core business. CreditEase agrees not to compete with us in a business that is of the same nature as (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time. We agree not to compete with CreditEase in the business conducted by CreditEase, other than (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business operated by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time.

·                  Employee recruiting and retention. Because both CreditEase and we are engaged in consumer finance related businesses in China, we may compete with CreditEase in the hiring of new employees, in particular with respect to risk management related matters. We have a non-solicitation arrangement with CreditEase that restricts us and CreditEase from hiring any of each other’s employees.

·                  Our board members or executive officers may have conflicts of interest. Our executive chairman, Ning Tang, and two directors, Quan Zhou and Tina Ju, are members of the board of directors of CreditEase. In addition, we have granted and may in the future continue to grant incentive share compensation to CreditEase’s employees and consultants. These relationships could create, or appear to create, conflicts of interest when these persons are faced with decisions with potentially different implications for CreditEase and us.

·                  Sale of shares in our company. CreditEase may decide to sell all or a portion of our shares that it holds to a third party, including to one of our competitors, thereby giving that third party substantial influence over our business and our affairs. Such a sale could be contrary to the interests of our employees or our other shareholders.

·                  Allocation of business opportunities. Under our non-compete agreement with CreditEase, we agree not to compete with CreditEase in the businesses conducted by CreditEase. There may arise other business opportunities that both we and CreditEase find attractive and which would complement our respective businesses. CreditEase may decide to take such opportunities itself, which would prevent us from taking advantage of those opportunities.

·                  Developing business relationships with CreditEase’s competitors. So long as CreditEase remains as our controlling shareholder, we may be limited in our ability to do business with its competitors. This may limit our ability to market our services for the best interests of our company and our other shareholders.

Although our company has become a stand-alone public company, we expect to operate, for as long as CreditEase is our controlling shareholder, as an affiliate of CreditEase. CreditEase may from time to time make strategic decisions that it believes are in the best interests of its business as a whole, including our company. These decisions may be different from the decisions that we would have made on our own. For example, we may be required to pay CreditEase for services that we currently enjoy free of charge from CreditEase, such as the information and data sharing. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Carve-out Agreements with CreditEase—Intellectual Property License Agreement.” CreditEase’s decisions with respect to us or our business may be resolved in ways that favor CreditEase and therefore CreditEase’s own shareholders, which may not coincide with the interests of our other shareholders. We have an audit committee, consisting of three independent directors, to review and approve all proposed related party transactions, including any transactions between us and CreditEase. However, we may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts, and even if we do so, the resolution may be less favorable to us than if we were dealing with a non-controlling shareholder. Even if both parties seek to transact business on terms intended to approximate those that could have been achieved between unaffiliated parties, this may not succeed in practice. Furthermore, if CreditEase sought to alter or violate the terms of the non-competition agreement with us in order to compete with us in the online consumer finance marketplace or otherwise, such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor in light of CreditEase’s controlling interest in us. If CreditEase were to compete with us, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

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Our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, has considerable influence over us and our corporate matters.

Our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, has considerable influence over us and our corporate matters. Mr. Tang beneficially owns 43.4% of the total outstanding shares of CreditEase, which is our controlling shareholder as of March 31, 2017.  Moreover, as Mr. Tang, as a director of CreditEase, currently holds three out of the five votes of CreditEase’s board of directors, he therefore controls the decision making of CreditEase and indirectly has considerable influence over us, our corporate matters and matters requiring shareholder approval, such as electing directors and approving material mergers, acquisitions or other business combination transactions. This concentrated control will limit the ability of the holders of our ordinary shares and our ADSs to influence corporate matters and could also discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions, which could have the effect of depriving the holders of our ordinary shares and our ADSs of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and, as a result, will rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

We are a “controlled company” as defined under the NYSE Listed Company Manual because CreditEase beneficially owns more than 50% of our outstanding ordinary shares. For so long as we remain a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and will rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our 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.

Foreign ownership of internet-based businesses, such as distribution of online information, is subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. For example, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in a value-added telecommunication service provider (except e-commerce) and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing value-added telecommunications services overseas and maintain a good track record in accordance with the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment promulgated in 2007, as amended, and other applicable laws and regulations.

We are a Cayman Islands company and our PRC subsidiaries are considered foreign-invested enterprises. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into among Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Ye, Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Cheng, and the shareholders of Heng Cheng, and a series of contractual arrangements entered into among Chongqing Heng Yu Da Technology Co., Ltd., or Heng Yu Da, Yiren Financial Information Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Yi Ren Wealth Management, and the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management and consolidate their operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Corporate History and Structure.”

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, our current ownership structure, the ownership structure of Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da, our PRC subsidiaries, and Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, the contractual arrangements among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng and the contractual arrangements among Heng Yu Da, Yi Ren Wealth Management and the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management are not in violation of existing PRC laws, rules and regulations; and these contractual arrangements are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect. However, Han Kun Law Offices has also advised us that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with the opinion of our PRC counsel.

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It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws, rules or regulations relating to variable interest entity structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. In particular, in January 2015, the Ministry of Commerce, or MOC, published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the “variable interest entity” structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. It is uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the final version would have any substantial changes from the draft. See “—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations” below. If the ownership structure, contractual arrangements and business of our company, Heng Ye, Heng Yu Da, Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including levying fines, confiscating our income or the income of Heng Ye, Heng Yu Da, Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, revoking the business licenses or operating licenses of Heng Ye, Heng Yu Da, Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, shutting down our servers or blocking our online platform, discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on our operations, requiring us to undergo a costly and disruptive restructuring, restricting or prohibiting our use of proceeds from our initial public offering to finance our business and operations in China, and taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, and/or our failure to receive economic benefits from Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, we may not be able to consolidate their results into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, and their respective shareholders for a portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its shareholders to operate our www.yirendai.com website. We have also relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with Yi Ren Wealth Management and its shareholders to operate our wealth management website and mobile application, which serve as an online portal for investment products, including the loan products offered on our platform as well as other investment products offered by third parties. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organization Structure.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our consolidated variable interest entities. For example, Heng Cheng, Yi Ren Wealth Management and their respective shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations, including maintaining our website and using the domain names and trademarks, in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests.

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If we had direct ownership of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by Heng Cheng, Yi Ren Wealth Management and their respective shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management. The shareholders of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management. Although we have the right to replace any shareholder of Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management under their respective contractual arrangements, if any shareholder of Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management is uncooperative or any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC laws and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. See “—Any failure by Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, our 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” below. Therefore, our contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.

Any failure by Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, our 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.

If Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, or their respective shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective under PRC laws. For example, if the shareholders of Heng Cheng or the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in Heng Cheng, or Yi Ren Wealth Management, as the case may be, to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a consolidated variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC laws, rulings by arbitrators are final and parties cannot appeal arbitration results in court unless such rulings are revoked or determined unenforceable by a competent court. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our consolidated variable interest entities, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.”

The shareholders of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The equity interests of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, are held by Mr. Ning Tang, our founder and executive chairman, and two other individuals, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian. Their interests in Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management may differ from the interests of our company as a whole. These shareholders may breach, or cause Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management to breach, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and Heng Cheng, or Yi Ren Wealth Management, as the case may be, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management and receive economic benefits from Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

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Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the exclusive option agreement with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity interests in Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management to a PRC entity or individual designated by us, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in the disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

Contractual arrangements in relation to Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we, Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.

Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law requires every enterprise in China to submit its annual enterprise income tax return together with a report on transactions with its related parties to the relevant tax authorities. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arm’s length principles. We may face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that (i) the contractual arrangements between Heng Ye, our wholly-owned subsidiary in China, Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity in China, and the shareholders of Heng Cheng, and (ii) the contractual arrangements between Heng Yu Da, our wholly-owned subsidiary in China, Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entity in China, and the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management were not entered into on an arm’s length basis in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and adjust Heng Cheng’s and Heng Yu Da’s income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing Heng Ye’s and Heng Yu Da’s tax expenses. In addition, if Heng Ye or Heng Yu Da requests the shareholders of Heng Cheng or the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management, as the case may be, to transfer their equity interests in Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, as the case may be, at nominal or no value pursuant to these contractual arrangements, such transfer could be viewed as a gift and subject Heng Ye to PRC income tax. Furthermore, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management for the adjusted but unpaid taxes according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if our consolidated variable interest entities’ tax liabilities increase or if they are required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.

We may lose the ability to use and benefit from assets held by Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, that are material to the operation of our business if any of these entities goes bankrupt or becomes subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, hold certain assets that are material to the operation of our business. Under the contractual arrangements, our consolidated variable interest entities may not and their respective shareholders may not cause them to, in any manner, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of their assets or their legal or beneficial interests in the business without our prior consent. However, in the event Heng Cheng’s shareholders or Yi Ren Wealth Management’s shareholders breach the these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management, or Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management declares bankruptcy and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If Heng Cheng or Yi Ren Wealth Management undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, independent third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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If the chops of Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da, our PRC subsidiaries, and Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, are not kept safely, are stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised.

In China, a company chop or seal serves as the legal representation of the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a signature. Each legally registered company in China is required to maintain a company chop, which must be registered with the local Public Security Bureau. In addition to this mandatory company chop, companies may have several other chops which can be used for specific purposes. The chops of Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da, our PRC subsidiaries, and Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities are generally held securely by personnel designated or approved by us in accordance with our internal control procedures. To the extent those chops are not kept safely, are stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised and those corporate entities may be bound to abide by the terms of any documents so chopped, even if they were chopped by an individual who lacked the requisite power and authority to do so. In addition, if the chops are misused by unauthorized persons, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve while distracting management from our operations.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Substantially all of our operations are located in China. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition, in the past the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, and since 2012, China’s economic growth has slowed down. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our products and services and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

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Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes and prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties.

In particular, PRC laws and regulations concerning the online lending information intermediary service industry are developing and evolving. Although we have taken measures to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations, including the Guidelines, the Interim Measures and the Custodian Guidelines, and avoid conducting any activities that may be deemed as illegal fund-raising, forming capital pool or providing guarantee to investors under the current applicable laws and regulations, the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the online lending information intermediary service industry and amend the existing laws and regulations in the future. See “—Risks Related to Our Business—If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.” We cannot assure you that our practices would not be deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations. Moreover, developments in the online lending information intermediary service industry may lead to changes in PRC laws, regulations and policies or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations and policies that may limit or restrict online consumer finance marketplaces like us, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operations.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

The MOC published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.

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Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs. Once an entity is considered to be an FIE, it may be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list” to be separately issued by the State Council later. If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment “restrictions” in the “negative list,” the FIE must go through a market entry clearance by the MOC before being established. If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment “prohibitions” in the “negative list,” it must not engage in the business. However, an FIE that is subject to foreign investment “restrictions,” upon market entry clearance, may apply in writing for being treated as a PRC domestic investment if it is ultimately “controlled” by PRC government authorities and its affiliates and/or PRC citizens. In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% or more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to exert material influence on the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. Once an entity is determined to be an FIE, it will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list,” to be separately issued by the State Council at a later date, if the FIE is engaged in an industry listed in the negative list. Unless the underlying business of the FIE falls within the negative list, which calls for market entry clearance by the MOC, prior approval from the government authorities as mandated by the existing foreign investment legal regime would no longer be required for establishment of the FIE.

The “variable interest entity” structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” and “Item 4. Information on the Company — C. Organizational Structure.” Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is included in the “negative list” as restricted industry, the VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then the variable interest entities will be treated as FIEs and any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

It is uncertain whether we would be considered as ultimately controlled by Chinese parties. CreditEase is our parent company and controlling shareholder as of the date of this annual report. Although Mr. Ning Tang, our executive chairman and a PRC citizen, owns less than 50% of the voting power of CreditEase, he has the power to appoint three directors on the five-member board of CreditEase. It is uncertain, however, if these factors would be sufficient to give Mr. Tang control over us under the draft Foreign Investment Law. Moreover, the draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the companies currently employing a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. In addition, it is uncertain whether the online consumer finance marketplace industry, in which our variable interest entities operate, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” that is to be issued. If the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law and the final “negative list” mandate further actions, such as MOC market entry clearance or certain restructuring of our corporate structure and operations, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure like us, there may be substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete these actions in a timely manner, or at all, and our business and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may also materially impact our corporate governance practice and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs.

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 PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations.

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We only have contractual control over our website. We do not directly own the website due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet information provision services. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise enforceability of related contractual arrangements, or have other harmful effects on us.

The evolving PRC regulatory system for the internet industry may lead to the establishment of new regulatory agencies. For example, in May 2011, the State Council announced the establishment of a new department, the State Internet Information Office (with the involvement of the State Council Information Office, the MITT, and the Ministry of Public Security). The primary role of this new agency is to facilitate the policy-making and legislative development in this field, to direct and coordinate with the relevant departments in connection with online content administration and to deal with cross-ministry regulatory matters in relation to the internet industry.

Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity operating our online marketplace and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entity operating our wealth management website and mobile application, may be deemed to be providing commercial internet information services and data processing and transaction processing services, which would require Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management to obtain an ICP License and an EDI License.

An ICP License is a value-added telecommunications business operating license required for provision of commercial internet information services. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunication Services.” Heng Cheng has obtained an ICP license, and Yi Ren Wealth Management is in the process of applying for an ICP license. Furthermore, as we are providing mobile applications to mobile device users, it is uncertain if Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management will be required to obtain a separate operating license in addition to the ICP License. Although we believe that not obtaining such separate license is in line with the current market practice, there can be no assurance that we will not be required to apply for an operating license for our mobile applications in the future.

An EDI License is a value-added telecommunications business operating license required for provision of data processing and transaction processing services. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 requires online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to apply for appropriate telecommunication business license in accordance with the relevant requirements of telecommunication authorities subsequent to completion of the record-filing with the local financial regulatory department. In accordance with the Guidelines and the Interim Measures, the relevant authorities are in the process of making detailed implementation rules regarding the record-filing procedures and the application procedures for appropriate telecommunication business license by online lending information intermediaries. We plan to apply for any requisite telecommunication services license once the detailed implementation rules become available.

The Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in and Operation of Value-added Telecommunications Business, issued by the MITT in July 2006, prohibits domestic telecommunication service providers from leasing, transferring or selling telecommunications business operating licenses to any foreign investor in any form, or providing any resources, sites or facilities to any foreign investor for their illegal operation of a telecommunications business in China. According to this circular, either the holder of a value-added telecommunication services operation permit or its shareholders must directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such license holders in their provision of value-added telecommunication services. The circular also requires each license holder to have the necessary facilities, including servers, for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. Heng Cheng currently owns the relevant domain names and trademarks in connection with our value-added telecommunications business and has the necessary personnel to operate our websites. If an ICP License holder fails to comply with the requirements and also fails to remedy such non-compliance within a specified period of time, the MITT or its local counterparts have the discretion to take administrative measures against such license holder, including revoking its ICP License.

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The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain new ones. If the PRC government considers that we were operating without the proper approvals, licenses or permits or promulgates new laws and regulations that require additional approvals or licenses or imposes additional restrictions on the operation of any part of our business, it has the power, among other things, to levy fines, confiscate our income, revoke our business licenses, and require us to discontinue our relevant business or impose restrictions on the affected portion of our business. Any of these actions by the PRC government may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Any failure by us or our third-party service providers to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations could damage our reputation.

In cooperation with our partnering custody banks and payment companies, we have adopted various policies and procedures, such as internal controls and “know-your-customer” procedures, for anti-money laundering purposes. In addition, we rely on our third-party service providers, in particular the custody banks and payment companies that handle the transfer of funds between borrowers and lenders, to have their own appropriate anti-money laundering policies and procedures. The custody banks and payment companies are subject to anti-money laundering obligations under applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations and are regulated in that respect by the PBOC. If any of our third-party service provides fail to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations, our reputation could suffer and we could become subject to regulatory intervention, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any negative perception of the industry, such as that arises from any failure of other consumer finance marketplaces to detect or prevent money laundering activities, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could compromise our image or undermine the trust and credibility we have established.

The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online lending information intermediaries, to comply with certain anti-money laundering requirements, including the establishment of a customer identification program, the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, the preservation of customer information and transaction records, and the provision of assistance to the public security department and judicial authority in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 require the online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to comply with certain anti-money laundering obligations, including verifying customer identification,  reporting suspicious transactions and preserving customer information and transaction records. The Custodian Guidelines issued by PBOC in February 2017 require the online lending platforms to set up custody accounts with commercial banks and comply with the anti-money laundry requirements of the relevant commercial banks. We cannot assure you that the anti-money laundering policies and procedures we have adopted will be effective in protecting our marketplace from being exploited for money laundering purposes or will be deemed to be in compliance with applicable anti-money laundering implementing rules if and when adopted.

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.

We are a holding company, and we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries 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. If our PRC subsidiaries incurs debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da to adjust its taxable income under the contractual arrangements they currently have in place with our consolidated variable interest entities in a manner that would materially and adversely affect their ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. See “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—Contractual arrangements in relation to Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities, may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we, or any our PRC consolidated variable interest entities, owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.”

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Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries, as wholly foreign-owned enterprises in China, may pay dividends only out of their respective accumulated after-tax profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such funds reaches 50% of its registered capital. At its discretion, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends.

Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business. See also “—If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.”

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.

Under PRC laws and regulations, we are permitted to utilize the proceeds from our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement to fund our PRC subsidiaries by making loans to or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, subject to applicable government registration and approval requirements.

Any loans to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC laws, are subject to PRC regulations and foreign exchange loan registrations. For example, loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. According to the Interim Measures on the Management of Foreign Debts promulgated by SAFE, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission on January 8, 2003, the statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debts of a foreign-invested company is the difference between the amount of total investment as approved by the MOC or its local counterpart and the amount of registered capital of such foreign-invested company. According to the Circular of the People's Bank of China on Matters relating to the Comprehensive Macro-prudential Management of Cross-border Financing issued by the People’s Bank of China in January 2017, or Circular 9, the maximum amount of foreign debt that each of our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated variable interest entities or other PRC domestic entities is allowed to borrow is two times of their respective net assets as indicated in their respective latest audited financial reports. Pursuant to circular 9 and other PRC laws and regulations regarding foreign debt, within a one-year grace period starting from January 11, 2017, the statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debt of a foreign-invested company, which is subject to its own election, is either the difference between the amount of total investment and the amount of registered capital as approved by the MOC or its local counterpart, or two times of their respective net assets.  With respect to our consolidated variable interest entities or other domestic PRC entities, the limit for the total amount of foreign debt is two times of their respective net assets pursuant to circular 9. Moreover, according  to Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Promoting the Administrative Reform of the Recordation and Registration System for Enterprises’ Issuance of Foreign Debts issued by the National Development and Reform Commission in September 2015, any loans we extend to our consolidated variable interest entities or other PRC operating companies that are domestic PRC entities for more than one year must be filed with the National Development and Reform Commission or its local counterpart and must also be registered with SAFE or its local branches.

We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. These capital contributions must be approved by the MOC or its local counterpart. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, which expands a pilot reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises nationwide. Circular 19 came into force and replaced both previous Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. On June 9, 2016, SAFE promulgated Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or Circular 16, to further expand and strengthen such reform. Under Circular 19 and Circular 16, foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC are allowed to use their foreign exchange funds under capital accounts and RMB funds from exchange settlement for expenditure under current accounts within its business scope or expenditure under capital accounts permitted by laws and regulations, except that such funds shall not be used for (i) expenditure beyond the enterprise’s business scope or expenditure prohibited by laws and regulations; (ii) investments in securities or other investments than principal-secured products issued by banks; (iii) granting  loans to non-affiliated enterprises, except where it is expressly permitted in the business license; and (iv) construction or purchase of real estate for purposes other than self-use (except for real estate enterprises). In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such RMB capital may not be altered without SAFE’s approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of these circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties. These circulars may significantly limit our ability to use RMB converted from the cash provided by our offshore financing activities to fund the establishment of new entities in China by our PRC subsidiaries, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies through our PRC subsidiaries, or to establish new variable interest entities in the PRC.

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In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to our PRC subsidiaries or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we expect to receive from our initial public offering and our private placement and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the price of our ADSs.

Substantially all of our revenues and expenditures are denominated in RMB, whereas our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB will affect the relative purchasing power in RMB terms of our U.S. dollar assets and the proceeds from our initial public offering. Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar while the functional currency for our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities are RMB. Gains and losses from the remeasurement of assets and liabilities that are receivable or payable in RMB are included in our consolidated statements of operations. The remeasurement has caused the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations to vary with exchange rate fluctuations, and the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations will continue to vary with exchange rate fluctuations. A fluctuation in the value of RMB relative to the U.S. dollar could reduce our profits from operations and the translated value of our net assets when reported in U.S. dollars in our financial statements. This could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations as reported in U.S. dollars. If we decide to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. In addition, fluctuations in currencies relative to the periods in which the earnings are generated may make it more difficult to perform period-to-period comparisons of our reported results of operations.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by, among other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions and China’s foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. However, the PBOC regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to limit fluctuations in RMB exchange rates and achieve policy goals. During the period between July 2008 and June 2010, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar had been stable and traded within a narrow range. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. Since October 1, 2016, Renminbi has joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right (SDR), along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the RMB has depreciated significantly in the backdrop of a surging U.S. dollar and persistent capital outflows of China. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalisation, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and we cannot assure you that the Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future.

There remains significant international pressure on the PRC government to adopt a flexible currency policy. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from our initial public offering into RMB to pay our operating expenses, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

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Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on the price of our ADSs.

Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our net revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our company in the Cayman Islands relies on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries are able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE, subject to the condition that the remittance of such dividends outside of the PRC complies with certain procedures under PRC foreign exchange regulation, such as the overseas investment registrations by the beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents. But approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies.

In light of the flood of capital outflows of China in 2016 due to the weakening RMB, the PRC government has imposed more restrictive foreign exchange policies and stepped up scrutiny of major outbound capital movement. More restrictions and substantial vetting process are put in place by SAFE to regulate cross-border transactions falling under the capital account. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.

Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.

We are required under PRC laws and regulations to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of our employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where we operate our businesses. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. We have not made adequate employee benefit payments. We may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. If we are subject to late fees or fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in August 2006 and amended in 2009, and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the MOC be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the MOC shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOC that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOC, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOC or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC law.

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 that requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC citizens or residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This notice has amended SAFE Circular 37 requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing.

If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration as required, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

All of our shareholders who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being PRC residents have completed the foreign exchange registrations required in connection with our recent corporate restructuring.

However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents or entities holding direct or indirect interest in our company, nor can we compel our beneficial owners to comply with SAFE registration requirements. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE regulations, or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiaries, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

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Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly-Listed Company, replacing earlier rules promulgated in March 2007. Pursuant to these rules, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests. We and our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or who have resided in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted options or other awards are subject to these regulations. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under PRC law. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations Related to Foreign Exchange—Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans.”

If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with a “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control over and overall management of the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued a circular, known as Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners like us, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the State Administration of Taxation’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation.” However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” As substantially all of our management members are based in China, it remains unclear how the tax residency rule will apply to our case. If the PRC tax authorities determine that Yirendai Ltd. or any of our subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, then Yirendai Ltd. or such subsidiary could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on its world-wide income, which could materially reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Furthermore, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares may be subject to PRC tax, at a rate of 10% in the case of non-PRC enterprises or 20% in the case of non-PRC individuals (in each case, subject to the provisions of any applicable tax treaty), if such gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. It is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on the investment in our ADSs.

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Discontinuation of preferential tax treatment or imposition of any additional taxes could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementing rules have adopted a uniform statutory enterprise income tax rate of 25% to all enterprises in China. The Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementing rules also permit companies qualified as “software enterprises” to enjoy a two-year income tax exemption starting from the first profit making year, followed by a reduced tax rate of 12.5% for the subsequent three years. Heng Ye, one of our PRC subsidiaries, was qualified as a “software enterprise” in July 2016, and accordingly is eligible for an exemption of enterprise income tax for 2015 and 2016 and a reduced enterprise income tax at the rate of 12.5% from 2017 through 2019.  However, Heng Ye’s qualification as a “software enterprise” is subject to annual evaluation by the relevant authorities in China.  If Heng Ye fails to maintain its “software enterprise” qualification, its applicable corporate income tax rate would increase to 25%, which could have adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations.

The current PRC income tax laws and regulations are not clear as to whether the provision for quality assurance program and the actual net payouts from quality assurance program are tax deductible relating to online lending platform intermediaries. Currently, we treat this as a temporary difference which means the provision for quality assurance program is non-deductible while the actual quality assurance program net payouts would be deductible for tax purpose when payments occur. However, due to the unclear PRC income tax laws and regulation as well as uncertainty in practice, there exist risks that the actual net payouts from quality assurance program may not be deductible before taxable income.

We may not be able to obtain certain benefits under relevant tax treaty on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary.

We are a holding company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and as such rely on dividends and other distributions on equity from our PRC subsidiaries to satisfy part of our liquidity requirements. Pursuant to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, a withholding tax rate of 10% currently applies to dividends paid by a PRC “resident enterprise” to a foreign enterprise investor, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for preferential tax treatment. Pursuant to the Arrangement between the Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, such withholding tax rate may be lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns no less than 25% of a PRC enterprise. Furthermore, the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Enterprises to Enjoy Treatments under Tax Treaties, which became effective in August 2015, require non-resident enterprises to determine whether they are qualified to enjoy the preferential tax treatment under the tax treaties and file relevant report and materials with the tax authorities. There are also other conditions for enjoying the reduced withholding tax rate according to other relevant tax rules and regulations. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation.” As of December 31, 2015 and 2016, we did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of our subsidiaries in the PRC as we intended to re-invest all earnings generated from our PRC subsidiaries for the operation and expansion of our business in China, and we intend to continue this practice in the foreseeable future. Should our tax policy change to allow for offshore distribution of our earnings, we would be subject to a significant withholding tax. We cannot assure you that our determination regarding our qualification to enjoy the preferential tax treatment will not be challenged by the relevant tax authority or we will be able to complete the necessary filings with the relevant tax authority and enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% under the Double Taxation Arrangement with respect to dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to Yirendai Hong Kong Limited, our Hong Kong subsidiary.

Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

The PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of certain taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by a non-resident enterprise by promulgating and implementing SAT Circular 59 and Circular 698, which became effective in January 2008, and a Circular 7 in replacement of some of the existing rules in Circular 698, which became effective in February 2015.

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Under Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the equity interests of a PRC “resident enterprise” indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an abusive use of company structure without reasonable commercial purposes. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of up to 10%. Circular 698 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the relevant tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction.

In February 2015, the SAT issued Circular 7 to replace the rules relating to indirect transfers in Circular 698. Circular 7 has introduced a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Circular 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to not only indirect transfers set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of other taxable assets, through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, Circular 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Circular 7 also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on future private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities may pursue such non-resident enterprises with respect to a filing or the transferees with respect to withholding obligation, and request our PRC subsidiaries to assist in the filing. As a result, we and non-resident enterprises in such transactions may become at risk of being subject to filing obligations or being taxed, under Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 or to establish that we and our non-resident enterprises should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under SAT Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the taxable assets transferred and the cost of investment. Although we currently have no plans to pursue any acquisitions in China or elsewhere in the world, we may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under SAT Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The audit report included in this annual report is prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, our investors are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the Peoples’ Republic of China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

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Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor’s audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging such firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC with respect to requests for the production of documents, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

Starting in 2011 the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S. listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from the Chinese accounting firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under Chinese law they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC.

In late 2012 this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. In January 2014, the administrative law judge reached an initial decision to impose penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC. The accounting firms filed a petition for review of the initial decision. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the commissioners of the SEC had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepts that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms will receive matching Section 106 requests, and are required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they fail to meet specified criteria, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure. Remedies for any future noncompliance could include, as appropriate, an automatic six-month bar on a single firm’s performance of certain audit work, commencement of a new proceeding against a firm, or in extreme cases the resumption of the current proceeding against all four firms.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ordinary shares from the NYSE or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

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Risks Related to our American Depositary Shares

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.

The trading price of our ADSs has ranged from US$3.35 to US$42.34 per ADS in 2016. The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or deteriorating financial results of internet or other companies based in China that have listed their securities in the United States in recent years. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial decline in their trading prices. The trading performances of other Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or other matters of us or other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. In addition, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, such as the large decline in share prices in the United States, China and other jurisdictions in late 2008, early 2009, the second half of 2011, the third quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, which may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs.

In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of our ADSs may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

·                  regulatory developments affecting us, our users or our industry;

·                  announcements of studies and reports relating to our loan products and service offerings or those of our competitors;

·                  changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other online consumer finance marketplaces;

·                  actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results;

·                  changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

·                  conditions in the internet and unsecured consumer finance industries;

·                  announcements by us or our competitors of new product and service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

·                  additions to or departures of our senior management;

·                  detrimental negative publicity about us, our management or our industry;

·                  fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar;

·                  release or expiry of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding ordinary shares or ADSs; and

·                  sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

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If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ADSs or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume of our ADSs to decline.

Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on price appreciation of our ADSs for return on your investment.

We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in our ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.

Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to our memorandum and articles of association and certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in our ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of our ADSs. There is no guarantee that our ADSs will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in our ADSs and you may even lose your entire investment in our ADSs.

Substantial future sales or perceived potential sales of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

Sales of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. As of March 31, 2017, we had 119,596,100 ordinary shares outstanding. Among these shares, 18,985,100 ordinary shares are in the form of ADSs. Other than the ADSs held by a fund affiliated with Mr. Ning Tang, all our ADSs are freely transferable without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares outstanding are available for sale, subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.  To the extent shares are sold into the market, the market price of our ADSs could decline.

Certain holders of our ordinary shares may cause us to register under the Securities Act the sale of their shares. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in ADSs representing these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the form of ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

We have adopted a share incentive plan, under which we have the discretion to grant a broad range of equity-based awards to eligible participants. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Share Incentive Plan.” We have registered certain ordinary shares that we may issue under this equity compensation plan and intend to register all ordinary shares that we may issue under this equity compensation plan. Once we register these ordinary shares, they can be freely sold in the public market in the form of ADSs upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates and relevant lock-up agreements. If a large number of our ordinary shares or securities convertible into our ordinary shares are sold in the public market in the form of ADSs after they become eligible for sale, the sales could reduce the trading price of our ADSs and impede our ability to raise future capital. In addition, any ordinary shares that we issue under an equity incentive plan would dilute the percentage ownership held by the investors who purchased ADSs.

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You, as holders of ADSs, may have fewer rights than holders of our ordinary shares and must act through the depositary to exercise those rights.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders and may only exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under our current memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required to convene a general meeting is seven days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit you to withdraw the shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to cast your vote with respect to any specific matter. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the shares underlying your ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting.

Except in limited circumstances, the depositary for our ADSs will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs if you do not vote at shareholders’ meetings, which could adversely affect your interests.

Under the deposit agreement for our ADSs, the depositary will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders’ meetings if you do not give voting instructions to the depositary, unless:

·                  we have failed to timely provide the depositary with our notice of meeting and related voting materials;

·                  we have instructed the depositary that we do not wish a discretionary proxy to be given;

·                  we have informed the depositary that there is substantial opposition as to a matter to be voted on at the meeting;

·                  a matter to be voted on at the meeting would materially and adversely affect the rights of shareholders; or

·                  voting at the meeting is made on a show of hands.

The effect of this discretionary proxy is that, if you fail to give voting instructions to the depositary, you cannot prevent our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, absent the situations described above. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence our management. Holders of our ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

Your rights to pursue claims against the depositary as a holder of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement.

Under the deposit agreement, any action or proceeding against or involving the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby or by virtue of owning the ADSs may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and you, as a holder of our ADSs, will have irrevocably waived any objection which you may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such action or proceeding. However, the depositary may, in its sole discretion, require that any dispute or difference arising from the relationship created by the deposit agreement be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms described in the deposit agreement. Also, we may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold your ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended. See “Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities—D. American Depositary Shares” for more information.

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Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make such rights available to you in the United States unless we register both the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not make rights available to you unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective and we may not be able to establish a necessary exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings in the future and may experience dilution in your holdings.

You may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to you.

The depositary will pay cash dividends on the ADSs only to the extent that we decide to distribute dividends on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities, and we do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. To the extent that there is a distribution, the depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to you.

You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

We have been named as a defendant in two putative shareholder class action lawsuits that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows and reputation.

We will have to defend against the putative shareholder class action lawsuits described in “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings,” including any appeals of such lawsuits should our initial defense be unsuccessful. We are currently unable to estimate the possible loss or possible range of loss, if any, associated with the resolution of these lawsuits. In the event that our initial defense of these lawsuits is unsuccessful, there can be no assurance that we will prevail in any appeal. Any adverse outcome of these cases, including any plaintiff’s appeal of a judgment in these lawsuits, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows and reputation. In addition, there can be no assurance that our insurance carriers will cover all or part of the defense costs, or any liabilities that may arise from these matters. The litigation process may utilize a significant portion of our resources and divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of our company, all of which could harm our business. We also may be subject to claims for indemnification related to these matters, and we cannot predict the impact that indemnification claims may have on our business or financial results.

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Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, a majority of our directors and executive officers reside within China, and most of the assets of these persons are located within China. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these individuals, or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of the PRC may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States (and the Cayman Islands are not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (c) is final, (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and (e) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands. However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities law if such judgment is determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands to give rise to obligations to make payments that are penal or punitive in nature. Because such a determination has not yet been made by a court of the Cayman Islands, it is uncertain whether such civil liability judgments from U.S. courts would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our director and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (2016 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our current memorandum and articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

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As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

Our memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us and adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

Our memorandum and articles of association contain certain provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company, including a provision that grants authority to our board of directors to establish and issue from time to time one or more series of preferred shares without action by our shareholders and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders and ADSs holders of the opportunity to sell their shares or ADSs at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transactions.

We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we are an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.

The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. However, we have elected to “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

·                  the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;

·                  the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

·                  the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and

·                  the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

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We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the NYSE. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the NYSE corporate governance listing standards.

As a Cayman Islands company listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. However, NYSE rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. Currently, we do not plan to rely on home country practice with respect to our corporate governance. However, if we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would enjoy under the NYSE corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

There can be no assurance that we will not be passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject United States investors in our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse United States income tax consequences.

We will be a “passive foreign investment company,” or “PFIC,” if, in any particular taxable year, either (a) 75% or more of our gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (b) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of our assets (as determined on the basis of fair market value) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). Although the law in this regard is unclear, we intend to treat Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management as being owned by us for United States federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over the operation of these entities but also because we are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated financial statements. Assuming that we are the owner of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management for United States federal income tax purposes, and based upon our income and assets, including goodwill, and the value of our ADSs and ordinary shares, we do not believe that we were be a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2016 and do not anticipate becoming a PFIC in the foreseeable future.

While we do not expect to become a PFIC, because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. The determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will also depend, in part, on the composition of our income and assets, which may be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in our initial public offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes or if it were determined that we do not own the stock of Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management for United States federal income tax purposes, our risk of being a PFIC may substantially increase. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a factual determination made annually after the close of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year or any future taxable year.

If we are a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) may incur significantly increased United States income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an “excess distribution” under the United States federal income tax rules and such holder may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. For more information see “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations.”

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We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company.”

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NYSE, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.07 billion in net revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we have elected to “opt out” of the provision that allow us to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Item 4.      Information on the Company

A.                                    History and Development of the Company

We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012 as a business unit under our parent company, CreditEase, which remains as our parent company and controlling shareholder after our initial public offering in December 2015. CreditEase incorporated Yirendai Ltd. in the Cayman Islands to be our holding company in September 2014. Yirendai Ltd. then established a wholly owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, Yirendai Hong Kong Limited, or Yirendai HK, in October 2014, and Yirendai HK further established Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Ye, our wholly owned subsidiary in China, in January 2015. Yirendai HK further established Chongqing Heng Yu Da Technology Co., Ltd., or Heng Yu Da, our wholly owned subsidiary in China, in March 2016.

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Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Cheng, was established in China in September 2014. Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian are the shareholders of Heng Cheng, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of the equity interest in Heng Cheng, respectively, as of the date of this annual report. We obtained control and became the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng in February 2015 by entering into a series of contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its shareholders.

To execute our strategy of offering more value-added services to investors, we established Yiren Financial Information Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Yi Ren Wealth Management, in China in October 2016 to mainly conduct our wealth management business, aiming to provide investors with an expanded array of investment options, including fund and insurance products offered by third parties.  Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian are the shareholders of Yi Ren Wealth Management, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of the equity interest in Yi Ren Wealth Management, respectively, as of the date of this annual report. We obtained control and became the primary beneficiary of Yi Ren Wealth Management by entering into a series of contractual arrangements with Yi Ren Wealth Management and its shareholders in October 2016.

On December 18, 2015, our ADSs commenced trading on the NYSE under the symbol “YRD.” We raised from our initial public offering approximately US$64.9 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting commissions and the offering expenses payable by us. Concurrently with our initial public offering, we sold 2,000,000 ordinary shares to Baidu (Hong Kong) Limited, or Baidu Hong Kong, in a private placement, resulting in net proceeds to us of approximately US$9.0 million.

We currently conduct our online consumer finance marketplace business in China through Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da, and our consolidated variable interest entities, Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management. Heng Cheng operates our website www.yirendai.com and has an ICP license as an internet information provider. Yi Ren Wealth Management operates our wealth management website and mobile application, which serves as an online portal for investment products, including the loan products offered by us as well as other investment products offered by third parties. Yi Ren Wealth Management is in the process of applying for an ICP license.

Our principal executive offices are located at 10/F, Building 9, 91 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 10 5395-3680.

B.                                    Business Overview

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. We facilitated over RMB32.3 billion (US$4.7 billion) in loans from our inception in March 2012 through December 31, 2016.

Our online platform automates key aspects of our operations and enables us to efficiently match borrowers with investors and execute loan transactions. Leveraging the extensive experience of our parent company CreditEase, we provide an effective solution to address largely underserved investor and individual borrower demand in China. CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Our borrowers and investors come from a variety of channels, including online sources, such as the internet and our mobile applications, as well as offline sources, such as referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, we facilitated over RMB550.8 million, RMB2,728.9 million and RMB7,577.8 million (US$1,091.4 million) in loans through our mobile applications, respectively, representing 24.7%, 28.6% and 37.4% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace in the respective periods.

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with stable credit performance and salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers as we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and more receptive to internet finance solutions. In the future, we may expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers, enabling us to capture the opportunities presented by China’s growing unsecured consumer finance market. Our online marketplace offers qualified borrowers who successfully complete our online application and meet our borrower requirements quick and convenient access to affordable credit at competitive prices. All of the loans facilitated through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates. To provide a transparent marketplace, the interest rates, transaction fees and other charges are all clearly disclosed to borrowers upfront.

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Our online marketplace provides investors with attractive returns with investment thresholds as low as RMB100 (US$14.4). Investors have the option to individually select specific loans to invest in or to use our automated investing tool that identifies and selects loans on the basis of a targeted return. We also offer investors a quality assurance program with the aim of limiting losses to investors from borrower defaults. In addition, we provide investors with access to a liquid secondary market, giving them an opportunity to exit their investments before the underlying loans become due. We currently conduct our business operations exclusively in China, and our online consumer finance marketplace does not facilitate investments by investors located in the United States.

We are transitioning into a comprehensive online financial services platform that offers a diversified portfolio of services to cater to various customer needs regardless of what stage in life they are at. Many users have approached us but were not able to enjoy our services due to segmentation and the transactional nature of our services.  Going forward, we will actively enhance customer engagement and grow our user base by offering more products, features and tools provided through our platform and our select partners.

We believe we have developed an industry leading risk management system using our proprietary credit decisioning and fraud detection modules. We accumulate data from our expanding borrower base and CreditEase’s extensive database to continually enhance the sophistication and reliability of our risk management system. Our proprietary risk management system enables us to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers more effectively in a market where reliable credit scores and borrower databases are still at an early stage of development. This system also enables us to appropriately price the risks associated with borrowers and offer quality loan investment opportunities to investors.

We generate revenues primarily from fees charged for our services in matching investors with individual borrowers and for other services we provide over the life of a loan. We charge borrowers transaction fees for services provided through our platform in facilitating loan transactions, and charge investors service fees for using our automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool. As an information intermediary, we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our marketplace.

We have experienced significant growth since we launched our marketplace in March 2012. Our total net revenues increased from RMB196.5 million in 2014 to RMB1,313.6 million in 2015, and further increased to RMB3,238.0 million (US$466.4 million) in 2016. We had net loss of RMB27.7 million in 2014, net income of RMB275.3 million in 2015 and RMB1,116.4 million (US$160.8 million) in 2016.

Our Solution

Our marketplace embraces the significant opportunities presented by a financial system that leaves many creditworthy individuals underserved or even unserved. Our online business model, empowered by a technology-driven and user-centric platform, allows us to efficiently match borrowers with investors. We provide borrowers with fast and convenient access to consumer credit at competitive rates, while we offer investors easy and quick access to an alternative asset class with attractive returns.

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*                 Historically, borrower and investor funds were deposited into a custody account managed by any one of a number of established third party online payment platforms. In August 2015, we fully migrated to a new system whereby China Guangfa Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in China, took over the custody accounts previously managed by the various third party payment platforms.

Our Borrowers

Target Borrower Group

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with stable credit performance and salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers because we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and receptive to internet finance solutions.

Borrower Profile and Base

Based on the information disclosed to us, as of December 31, 2016, our historical borrower profile was 80.2% male and 19.8% female, while 73.9% were 35 years of age or less.

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, we facilitated loans to 39,344, 146,390 and 321,019 borrowers through our platform, respectively. We do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time. The total amount of funds loaned to borrowers through our platform was RMB2,228.6 million, RMB9,557.6 million and RMB20,277.9 million (US$2,920.6 million) in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Borrower Acquisition

We attract a fast growing number of borrowers through various online channels. Our online borrower acquisition efforts are supported by our big data capabilities and are primarily directed toward search engine marketing, search engine optimization, mobile application downloads through major application stores, partnering with online channels through application programming interfaces, as well as various marketing campaigns.

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We also acquire borrowers through referrals from CreditEase’s extensive on-the-ground sales network across over 252 locations in China as part of our contractual arrangement with CreditEase.  Under this arrangement, CreditEase is obligated to refer borrowers who fall within our target borrower group to our online marketplace, in exchange for which we pay CreditEase a referral fee. The cost of services which CreditEase provides to us may from time to time increase, based on commercial negotiations between CreditEase and us. In 2016, pursuant to our contractual agreement with CreditEase, the fee rate for the offline borrower acquisition services which CreditEase provides to us increased from 5% to 6% of the loans facilitated to borrowers referred by CreditEase for the three years starting 2016. After that, the fee rate may be adjusted on a yearly basis based on commercial negotiation, and after taking into consideration the costs to CreditEase for providing such services and with reference to market rates. Once a potential borrower is referred to us, all the remaining aspects of the transaction life cycle are handled by us, with our online marketplace facilitating the loan transaction, from application to credit decisioning to matching and servicing. Our referral arrangement with CreditEase is designed so that CreditEase does not compete with our online consumer finance marketplace business. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 48.1%, 49.5% and 42.5% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively. The average size of loans sourced through offline channels tends to be larger than that of loans sourced through online channels.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of borrowers using our platform by channel:

(1)         The number of borrowers for a specified period represents the number of borrowers whose loans were funded during such period. We do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time. A borrower who obtains loans through our platform from both online and offline channels during a period is counted as a borrower acquired from online channels for the purpose of the table above.

(1)         In October 2016, we launched a new program named “Top-up Program” whereby we facilitate a new loan for a qualified borrower to replace his or her existing loan on our platform. Top-up Program is a service provided to qualified borrowers to enhance customer experience and serve their lifetime credit needs. Only the top-up amount, i.e. the portion of the new loan exceeding the outstanding balance of the existing loan, is included in the amount of loans facilitated presented in the table above and elsewhere in this annual report. The total contractual amount of all loans facilitated in 2016, which included the entire amount of the new loans facilitated under the Top-up Program, was RMB20,486 million (US$2,951 million).

(2)         RMB247.4 million of loans generated from offline channels for 2015 were funded through Trust No. 1. RMB300.0 million of loans generated from offline channels for 2016 were funded through Trust No. 2. For more information about the trusts, please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospectus—A. Operating Results—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Basis of Presentation, Combination and Consolidation.”

Our Investors

Target Investor Group

We accept investments from investors of all income levels. However, we focus our efforts on attracting mass affluent investors. This large and rapidly growing sector of the Chinese population is currently underserved by traditional investment products in China. We seek to attract mass affluent investors because members of this demographic group are a significant untapped source of capital. In the future, we plan to expand our investor base from our current focus on individual investors to also include institutional investors.

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Investor Profile and Base

Based on the information disclosed to us, as of December 31, 2016, our historical investor profile was 56.1% male and 44.0% female, while 78.5% were 40 years of age or less.

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 34,527, 326,055 and 597,765 investors invested through our platform, respectively. The total amount of funds invested by investors through our marketplace was RMB2.6 billion, RMB11.9 billion and RMB25.0 billion (US$3.6 billion) in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Investor Acquisition

We attract a fast growing majority of our investors through online channels and currently attract almost all of our investors from such channels. Our investor acquisition efforts are primarily directed towards enhancing our brand name, building investor trust, and word-of-mouth marketing. We also attract investors through CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, which refers potential investors to our marketplace who have expressed interest in the types of loan products offered on our online marketplace.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of investors using our platform by channel:

(1)         The number of investors for a specified period represents the number of investors who have made at least one investment in loans during such period. An investor who makes investments through our platform through both online and offline channels during a period is counted as an investor acquired from online channels for the purpose of the table above.

Our Products and Services

Products Offered to Borrowers

Our online marketplace primarily facilitates standard loan products and FastTrack loan products to borrowers. For the loan products we facilitate, the APR paid by borrowers is between 16.9% and 39.5%, with the specific rate charged dependent upon a risk assessment of the borrower. We believe that these loans are simple and quality credit products that make it easy for borrowers to budget their repayment obligations and meet their financial needs. All of our loan products are unsecured, feature fixed monthly payments and offer terms of 12, 18, 24, 36 or 48 months. In October 2016, we launched a new program named “Top-up Program” whereby we facilitate a new loan for a qualified borrower to payback his or her existing loan on our platform. Top-up Program is a service provided to qualified borrowers to enhance customer experience and serve their lifetime credit needs. The fee structure of loans facilitated under the Top-up Program is the same as other loan products except that we offer a credit of upfront fee of the existing loan to encourage the acceptance of the new loan, which is considered as a cash incentive provided to the borrower and recorded as a reduction to revenue.

Standard Loan Products

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the average loan amounts for our standard loan products were approximately RMB66,187, RMB82,816 and RMB89,058 (US$12,827.1), respectively. To apply for a standard loan, a borrower needs to complete an online application providing information such as their PRC identity card information, a bank statement with proof of monthly income and credit report from the PBOC, as well as the desired loan amount and term. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, our standard loan products represented the majority of the loans that were made through our marketplace.

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FastTrack Loan Products

FastTrack loans are a new, fast expanding product that is currently only available through our mobile applications. These loans can be as large as RMB100,000 (US$14,403.0). In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the average FastTrack loan amounts were RMB36,328, RMB39,458 and RMB39,159 (US$5,640.1), respectively. To apply for a FastTrack loan, a borrower completes an online application providing their PRC identity card information, e-commerce account information, mobile phone number, credit card statement and if applicable, PBOC credit report, housing fund information and life insurance policy information, as well as the desired loan amount and duration. This product offers near instantaneous credit approval, allowing qualified borrowers to receive an initial decision in as fast as ten minutes.

Loan Pricing Mechanism

We price loans facilitated through our marketplace using a pricing grid with four pricing grades, each with an APR calculated to correspond to a risk assessment of borrowers falling within that particular segment. Once a borrower’s credit information is input into our proprietary credit scoring and loan qualification system, that system automatically decides which of the four segments the borrower falls under, and applies the fee rate for the relevant segment to the borrower. Going forward, we plan to expand the number of segments contained in our pricing grid.

Loans are quoted as a fee rate displayed as an APR, which comprises a fixed interest rate that borrowers pay investors, and a transaction fee rate we charge borrowers for our services, and represents the total cost of borrowing for borrowers. The APRs for the term loans on our marketplace currently range from 16.9% to 39.5%, enabling us to cover a broad range of high-quality risk assets.

All of the loans offered through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates, which are paid to investors less any defaults over the term of the applicable loan and fees charged to investors. In addition, we charge borrowers transaction fees for matching them with investors. The transaction fee is charged as a percentage of the loan contract. A penalty fee for late payment is imposed as a percentage of the amount past due. All fees are clearly disclosed to the borrower upfront.

Services Offered to Investors

Through our marketplace investors have the opportunity to invest in a wide range of loan products with attractive returns. We believe our proprietary credit scoring and fraud detection systems will increase investor confidence in the quality of loans that they are investing in.

Investing Tools

Our online marketplace provides investors with several investing tools.

Automated investing tool. Our automated investing tool represents the most popular way for investors to invest in loans through our marketplace. With our automated investing tool, an investor agrees to invest a specified amount of money to borrowers through our marketplace for a specified period of time. Once an investor commits funds using the tool, his funds are automatically allocated among approved borrowers. Our automated investing tool automatically reinvests investors’ funds as soon as a loan is repaid, enabling investors to speed the reinvestment of cash flows without having to continually revisit our website or mobile application. Unless an emergency withdrawal fee is paid, investors using our automated investing tool are not allowed to withdraw their funds prior to the expiration of the specified investment period, which does not necessarily match the term of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the vast majority of funds invested by investors through our marketplace were invested utilizing this automated investing tool.

The minimum threshold for a lending commitment made through our automated investing tool is RMB100 (US$14.4). In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the average amounts invested through our automated investing tool by each investor were RMB76,612, RMB35,327 and RMB41,530 (US$5,981.6), respectively, and the current average annual rates of return to investors after deducting the management fee were between 5.0% to 10.5%. The specific rate of return offered to an investor using our automated investing tool varies with the duration of the committed investment term, which can be as short as three months, and the average interest returns of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds, which are also dependent on loan term.

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Self-directed investing tool. Our self-directed investing tool enables investors to personally select among the hundreds of new lending opportunities to approved borrowers that are posted on our marketplace every day. After selecting a desired loan, the investor then agrees to lend a specified amount of money to a specific borrower through our marketplace for a specified duration which must match the tenure of the borrower’s loan. In order to encourage investors to diversify their risks, we have a policy capping each investor’s investment in a given loan at 20% of the loan amount. Our platform provides investors using our self-directed investing tool with the ability to use filters based on credit and application data, such as term, amount and interest rate, to screen loans on our platform for review.

The minimum threshold for a lending commitment made through our self-directed investing tool is RMB100 (US$14.4). In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the average amounts invested through our self-directed investing tool by each investor were RMB51,570, RMB85,787 and RMB58,419 (US$8,414.1), respectively. The rate of return offered to an investor after deducting the management fee varies with the duration of the investment term, with 9.0% corresponding to a 12-month loan and 11.25% corresponding to a 48-month loan.

Quality assurance program

In January 2015 we launched our current quality assurance program. Under the current arrangement, we set aside a certain amount of cash in an interest-bearing custody account. The quality assurance program covers loans originated on or after January 1, 2015. If a loan originated on or after January 1, 2015 defaults, we will withdraw funds from the quality assurance program to repay the principal and accrued interest for the defaulted loan, unless the quality assurance program is depleted. At the inception of each loan, we set aside cash in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount facilitated on our platform. We reserve the right to revise this percentage upwards or downwards from time to time. In addition, we monitor the balance of the quality assurance program on a monthly basis, and adjust on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash from other sources into the quality assurance program as needed to ensure we can sufficiently cover the expected net payouts. See “—Risk Management—Investor Protection.”

Secondary Loan Market

We maintain a secondary loan market on our marketplace where investors can transfer the loans they hold prior to maturity at the fair value of the remaining loans. This secondary loan market is liquid, with loans typically exchanging hands within the same day it is posted. This liquidity offers investors the opportunity to enter and exit their investments without waiting until maturity, increasing their frequency and willingness to lend and, as a result, the amount of funds ultimately available to borrowers.

Fees Charged to Investors

We charge investors various on-going as well as one-time fees, depending on their specific investment activity on our marketplace. We charge investors a monthly management fee for using our automated investing tool and self-directed investing tool. The monthly management fee for using the automated investing tool is the difference between the interest rates on the underlying loans which range from 10.0% and 12.5%, and the targeted returns offered to investors which range from 5.0% to 10.5%. The monthly management fee for using the self-directed investing tool is equal to 10% of the interest that investors receive, which ranges from 10.0% to 12.5%. A one-time fee is charged to all investors for each loan transferred over our secondary loan market.

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Our Platform and the Transaction Process

We believe that our platform enables a fast loan application process, a credit assessment that more accurately determines an applicant’s creditworthiness and a superior overall user experience. Our platform touches each point of our relationship with our borrowers and investors, from the application process through the funding and servicing of loans.

We provide an automated, streamlined application process. To borrowers and investors alike, the process is designed to appear simple, seamless and efficient but our platform leverages sophisticated, proprietary technology to make it possible. The entire process from initial application to disbursement of funds typically takes one-to-two days.

Stage 1: Application

Our borrower application process begins with the submission of a loan application by a prospective borrower. Borrowers can apply through our website or mobile applications. For borrowers acquired through CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, a CreditEase salesperson will guide the prospective borrower in completing the application process and input the application and required information into our system. As part of both the online and offline application process, the prospective borrower is asked to provide various personal details. The specific personal details required will depend upon the borrower’s desired loan product, but typically include PRC identity card information, employer information, bank account information, credit card information and a credit report from the PBOC. For our FastTrack product, applicants may complete an application on our platform in three steps taking as little as ten minutes, significantly reducing the time normally spent applying for a loan.

New investors sign up to our marketplace using a simple online portal in which they input their PRC identity card information and bank account information. Prior to June 2015, the funds they invested over our marketplace were deposited into a custody account run by any one of a number of established third-party online payment platforms. In August 2015, we fully migrated to a new system whereby China Guangfa Bank took over the investor custody accounts previously managed by the various third party payment platforms.

Stage 2: Verification

Upon submission of a completed application by borrowers from both online and offline channels, our credit models are populated with all information contained in the submitted loan application. Additional data from a number of internal and external sources is then matched with the application, including the following:

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This data is then aggregated and used to verify an applicant’s identity, for possible fraud detection and for assessment and determination of creditworthiness.

Stage 3: Anti-Fraud, Credit Assessment and Decisioning

In order to efficiently screen applicants, we have designed an initial qualification phase to review the basic information regarding a prospective borrower that has been submitted with the application and gathered by us from available sources. As a matter of policy, we do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time, although we currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance marketplaces. Once complete, an initial check is performed using our anti-fraud system, and the prospective borrower’s loan application either proceeds to the next phase of the application process or the prospective borrower is notified of the decision to decline the application.

Following initial qualification, we commence a credit review utilizing our proprietary credit scoring model to generate an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower that drives the decision whether to extend credit. Our current proprietary credit-scoring model originates from a credit scoring system that was developed by CreditEase in conjunction with Fair Issac Corporation, or FICO, a leading U.S. provider of analytics software and tools used to manage risk and fight fraud. We have further modified our credit scoring system to adapt it to the realities of the Chinese market, which has historically had no source of widely available consumer credit information. Today, our credit scoring system uses our own scoring criteria, and is routinely monitored, tested, updated and validated by our risk management team. Following the generation of the Yirendai score, our credit decisioning system makes a determination as to whether the prospective borrower is qualified. Unqualified borrowers are notified of the decision to decline their applications for failing to meet minimum requirements.

For a potential borrower who passes our initial qualification phase and is applying for our loan products, the application proceeds to our credit assessment team for review. A member of our credit assessment team will first conduct a telephone verification interview with the applicant. After the initial telephone verification interview, one junior and one senior member of our credit assessment team will analyze the application and Yirendai score. If a member of the credit assessment team suspects there may be fraud involved with a particular loan application or determines that additional verification is needed to complete the credit decisioning process, that team member will conduct further due diligence and verification, such as additional phone calls to the borrower applicant and the applicant’s employer that is identified in the application. While these additional steps have led us to discover instances of invalid information provided by prospective borrowers in the past, the number of such instances has not been significant. Following this review, the credit assessment team will either approve the loan as is, approve the loan with one or more modified sets of loan characteristics, or decline the loan application. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 18.8%, 25.7% and 39.7% of all loan applications that passed the initial qualification phase were approved by our credit assessment team, respectively. The approval rate by our credit assessment team improved as we enhanced our initial qualification process by rejecting non-qualified borrowers at an early stage. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 12.8%, 12.7% and 14.5% of all loan applications were approved.

Stage 4: Approval, Listing and Funding

Once the loan application is approved, we make a loan agreement available online for the prospective borrower’s review and approval. This loan agreement is between the borrower, the investors who fund the borrower’s loan and our platform. Upon acceptance of the loan agreement, if the loan has not been matched automatically through automated investing tool, the loan is then listed on our marketplace for investors to view. Once a loan is listed on our marketplace, investors may then subscribe to the loan using either our automated or self-directed investing tools. Before a loan is disbursed to the borrower, it must be fully subscribed to by investors. Our liquidity management system is designed to ensure the fast and effective matching of borrowers’ loan applications and investors’ investment demand through the use of a detailed demand forecasting model and real time monitoring. Once a loan is fully subscribed, funds are then drawn from a custody account and disbursed to the borrower.

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Stage 5: Servicing and Collections

We 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 to a custody account, and authorize us to debit the custody account for the transfer of scheduled loan repayments to the lending investors. We check the balances in the custody account and reconcile the transactions against our records on a daily basis.

As a day-to-day service to borrowers, we provide payment reminder services such as sending reminder text messages 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.

We outsource all stages of the collections process to CreditEase, which commences once a loan is fifteen days delinquent. To facilitate repayment and as a service to investors, 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, then followed by visits to the delinquent borrower’s home. Although all 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.

Risk Management

Traditional risk management tools and the types of consumer finance data available in developed economies, such as widely available consumer credit reporting services, are currently at an early stage of development in China. We believe our industry leading risk management capabilities provide us with a competitive advantage in attracting capital to our marketplace by providing investors with comfort that they are investing in high quality loans through a sustainable marketplace.

Proprietary Fraud Detection System

We use a proprietary fraud detection system, which is part of our larger risk management system, to identify and reject potential borrower applications. Our system combines quantitative modeling, internet technology, offline verification and the use of third-party services. The quantitative modeling aspect of our fraud detection system involves the use of a big data platform to locate potential inconsistencies in a particular borrower application. The internet technology aspect includes IP verification and monitoring. Our offline verification activities involve members of our credit assessment team speaking with potential borrowers to inquire after any inconsistencies in a loan application. Our big data platform is also used to enhance our offline verification processes. Lastly, we employ third-party services to check the online behavior of potential borrowers, and utilize government agency’s open database to check their identity card numbers against known criminals. We also maintain a blacklist after detecting any fraudulent borrowers. Currently, our risk management system utilizes over 250 decisioning rules and contains a blacklist with over 1,000,000 fraud detection data points.

Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System

We use a proprietary credit scoring model to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. This credit scoring model originates from a credit scoring system that was developed by CreditEase in conjunction with FICO. We have further modified our credit scoring model to adapt it to the realities of the Chinese market, which has historically had no source of widely available consumer credit information. Our credit scoring model aggregates and analyzes the data submitted by the borrower as well as the data we collect from a number of internal and external sources, and then generates an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower. Our relationship with CreditEase allows us to further enhance the depth of our credit scoring model through our ability to rely on its ten years of loan data. In addition to its strong analytical foundation, our credit scoring model is routinely monitored, tested, updated and validated by our risk management team.

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The following table presents the key criteria that materially impact a borrower’s Yirendai score:

The Yirendai scores derived from our proprietary credit scoring model containing the criteria mentioned above are used to determine which of the four segments in our current pricing grid a particular borrower falls into.

Currently, to qualify for any of the four segments, a prospective borrower must first meet our definition of a prime borrower and then meet the following additional minimum borrower qualification standards we set forth for each of the four segments:

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(1)         “healthy purchasing pattern” means a purchase pattern with online merchants which includes, among others, an online purchasing history of no shorter than four years.

(2)         “healthy credit card behavior” means a credit card related behavioral pattern which includes, among others, consistent on-time payments and a relatively low level of average credit utilization.

(3)         “stable credit card behavior” means a credit card related behavioral pattern which includes, among others, consistent on-time payments and a moderate level of average credit utilization.

(4)         “stable purchasing pattern” means a purchase pattern with online merchants which includes, among others, an online purchasing history of no shorter than two years.

Among the four segments, Grade A represents the lowest risks associated with the borrowers, while Grade D represents the highest risks. The APRs that correspond to the four segments in our current pricing grid range from 16.9% to 39.5%, enabling us to appropriately price across a broad range of loans. The APRs represent the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the life of a loan charged to the borrowers, which includes the transaction fee and the fixed interest fee.

The following table presents the current APR, the annual interest rate and the average transaction fee rate for each of the different segments in our pricing grid:

(1)         The yearly interest rate that the borrowers pay to investors varies from 10.0% to 12.5% depending on the term of the loan.

(2)         The transaction fee rate is calculated as the total transaction fee that we charge borrowers for the entire life of the loan, divided by the total amount of principal. The average transaction fee rate presented in the table above is the simple average of the transaction fee rates for loans falling under the same pricing grade, but with different tenures and repayment schedules. As the interest rate and APR are both annualized rates while the average transaction fee rate is calculated as described above, the sum of the yearly interest rate and the average transaction fee rate is not equal to the APR.

We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A on our marketplace since our inception, and these loans represent the majority of the historical loans facilitated through our online consumer finance marketplace. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we raised the minimum borrower qualification standards for Grade A loans, and started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014, and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. The introduction of these new pricing grades is part of our continued focus on prime borrowers and enables us to further segment this group of borrowers and price the risks associated with them more effectively.

We allow prospective borrowers who initially fail to meet our borrower criteria to reapply for a loan after a certain period of time, typically six months, if they are able to demonstrate a verifiable improvement in the criteria that impact their Yirendai score. For prospective borrowers that we determine present a fraud risk, reapplications are never permitted.

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Our Risk Management Committee, Risk Management Division and Credit Assessment Team

Organizationally, we have a risk management committee, comprised of our executive chairman, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief risk officer, that meets monthly to examine the credit, liquidity and operational risks on our platform.

We have an independent risk management division, responsible for loan performance analysis, credit model validation and credit decisioning performance. This division engages in various risk management activities, including reporting on performance trends, monitoring of loan concentrations and stability, performing economic stress tests on loans, randomly auditing loan decisions by our credit assessment team members and conducting peer benchmarking and external risk assessments.

Our credit assessment team consisted of 72 members as of December 31, 2016. Each application for loan products received through our platform is reviewed by one junior member and one senior member of our credit assessment team. Members of our credit assessment team analyze loan applications and also assist with fraud detection and borrower verification, leveraging skills learned through training and on-the-job experience to evaluate loans on the basis of direct communications with potential borrowers. For each loan application, a junior team member will make an initial recommendation which is then reviewed by a senior team member, who has the authority to veto the junior team member’s recommendation. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 18.8%, 25.7% and 39.7% of all loan applications that passed the initial qualification phase were approved by our credit assessment team, respectively.

Loan Servicing and Collections

Our technology platform is capable of monitoring and tracking payment activity. With built-in payment tracking functionality and automated missed payment notifications, the platform allows us to monitor the performance of outstanding loans on a real-time basis.

CreditEase has developed a strategy to optimize the collections process for our delinquent loans. Our collections process is divided into distinct stages based on the severity of delinquency, which dictates the level of collection steps taken. Loans progress through the collection cycle based upon the number of days past due but can be accelerated based on specific circumstances.

Investor Protection

Prior to August 2013, we offered investors an investor protection service in the form of a quality assurance program, whereby we set aside a portion of the service fees we received in the quality assurance program. In the event that a loan defaults for more than fifteen days, we will use cash from the quality assurance program to pay the loan principal and accrued interest to the investor. According to our agreements with investors, our contractual obligation for repayment of defaulted loans is limited to the amount of cash we set aside in the quality assurance program. We charged investors a quality assurance program management fee at a rate of 10% of the loan interest for this service.

In August 2013, we replaced the previous quality assurance program with a guarantee system. Under this system, we worked with Tian Da Xin An, a guarantee company, to provide investors with the option of purchasing the assurance that their principal and interest would be repaid in the event that their loans defaulted, and the guarantee company charged investors 10% of the loan interest for the guarantee service. Historically, more than 99% of investors opted into the guarantee system. When we switched to the guarantee model in August 2013, we paid Tian Da Xin An a one-time fee of US$0.3 million for its assumption of the outstanding loan balances covered under our previous quality assurance program.

Starting on January 1, 2015, we ended our relationship with the guarantee company, which will still continue to guarantee all previously guaranteed loans, and launched our current quality assurance program. This quality assurance program covers loans originated on or after January 1, 2015. Under this arrangement, at the inception of each loan we set aside cash in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount facilitated on our platform in an interest-bearing custody account managed by China Guangfa Bank. We reserve the right to revise this percentage upwards or downwards from time to time. The factors that we consider in determining such percentage include market dynamics, our product lines, profitability, cash position and our actual and expected quality assurance net payouts.

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Under the quality assurance arrangement, if a borrower is 15 days delinquent in repaying an installment of principal and interest of a loan, we will withdraw an amount from the custody account to repay the delinquent installment of principal and interest to the corresponding investor. If a borrower is 90 days delinquent in repaying an installment of principal and interest on a loan, we will withdraw an amount from the custody account to repay the delinquent installment principal and interest, plus the entire outstanding balance of the loan principal, to the corresponding investor. If the quality assurance program becomes insufficient to pay back all the investors with delinquent loans, these investors will be repaid on a pro rata basis, and their outstanding unpaid balances will be deferred to the next time the quality assurance program is replenished, at which time a distribution will again be made to all investors with delinquent loans. Following replenishment of the quality assurance program, in the event that the amount of funds is again insufficient to pay back all investors with delinquent loans, the investors will again be repaid on a pro rata basis, although in this case the number of investors sharing pro rata in the quality assurance program will increase to include the unpaid investors from prior periods as well as the unpaid investors from the current period. If the quality assurance program is continually underfunded, investors may need to wait for extended periods to receive a full distribution from the quality assurance program, or incur a loss on their investment if the quality assurance program is not sufficient. Starting in November 2015, we placed a two-year limit on the period during which an investor has the right to receive distribution from the quality assurance program, which means if an investor has not recovered the full default amount by the time that is two years and 90 days from the original due date, then the investor will no longer have the right to receive pro rata repayment from our quality assurance program. As a result, investors will bear the risk that they will not be able to fully recover their investment principal and unpaid interest.

Once we make a payment to an investor, we seek to collect the amounts from the borrower through the collection process. The amount collected from the borrower, if any, is remitted to first replenish the portion of the quality assurance program used to repay the investor, and if there is any additional amount remaining, then to reimburse our collection expenses. If we are not successful in collecting a sufficient amount from the default borrower to cover our collection expenses, our quality assurance service agreement with investors calls for investors to reimburse us for any litigation or arbitration expenses we may have advanced on their behalf during the collection process, although in practice we will bear the unrecovered portion of these and all other collection expenses.

In the first three quarters of 2015, the amount of cash we set aside for the quality assurance program is equivalent to 6% of the loans facilitated through our marketplace during the period. This amount was not sufficient to cover all expected net payouts for loans facilitated during this period.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, in order to continue to attract new and retain existing investors and to remain consistent with the current industry practice in China, we revised our quality assurance program funding policy to ensure that we set aside sufficient cash in the quality assurance program to cover the expected net payouts, based on our business intention but not legal obligation. In addition to setting aside a certain percentage of the loan amount at the inception of each loan, we monitor the balance of the quality assurance program on a monthly basis, and adjust on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash from other sources into the quality assurance program as needed to ensure we can sufficiently cover the expected net payouts.

Our current quality assurance program funding policy aims to have sufficient cash in the quality assurance program to cover expected net payouts. Subject to the terms and limits in our agreements with investors, we currently allow investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default. However, as the industry continues to evolve and becomes more sophisticated, we may revisit our policy or the terms on which we offer the quality assurance program so that investors may recover less than 100% of the outstanding principal and accrued interest.

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For our liabilities associated with the quality assurance program, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Selected Statements of Operations Items—Quality assurance program.”

Our Technology

We believe our technology platform is a competitive advantage and an important reason that borrowers and investors utilize our marketplace. Key features of our technology platform include:

·                  Highly automated process. Our platform covers all five stages of the customer life cycle: application; verification; credit assessment and decisioning; listing and funding; and servicing and collections. Our web and mobile based platform also provides a superior customer experience. We offer a fast and easy-to-use online application process and provide both borrowers and investors with access to live support and online tools throughout the process and for the lifetime of the loan or investment. Our liquidity management system is designed to ensure the fast and effective matching of borrowers’ loan applications and investors’ investment demand by forecasting the borrowing demand on a weekly and monthly basis and monitoring the fund flow on a real time basis.

·                  Mobile applications. We have developed different user-friendly mobile applications for borrowers and investors, which enable borrowers and investors alike to access our platform at any time or location that is convenient. We launched our first mobile application during the fourth quarter of 2013, and approximately 24.7%, 28.6% and 37.4% of loans in terms of amount were facilitated through our mobile applications in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

·                  Proprietary fraud detection. We use a combination of current and historical data obtained during the application process, third-party data and sophisticated analytical tools to help determine an application’s fraud risk. High risk applications are subject to further investigation. In case where fraud is confirmed, the application is cancelled, and we identify and flag characteristics of the loan to help refine our fraud detection efforts.

·                  Scalable platform. Our platform is built on a distributed, load-balanced computing infrastructure, which is both highly scalable and reliable. The infrastructure can be expanded easily as data storage requirements and user visits increase. We have designed a unified platform, which administrates all systems and servers and can reconfigure or redeploy systems or servers automatically whenever needed.

·                  Data security. Our network is configured with multiple layers of security to isolate our databases from unauthorized access and we use sophisticated security protocols for communication among applications. To prevent unauthorized access to our system we utilize a system of firewalls and also maintain a perimeter network, or DMZ, to separate our external-facing services from our internal systems. Our entire website and public and private APIs use the Secure Sockets Layer networking protocol.

·                  Stability. Our systems infrastructure is hosted in co-located redundant data centers in two separate districts in Beijing. We have multiple layers of redundancy to ensure the reliability of our network. We also have a working data redundancy model with comprehensive backups of our databases and our development environment conducted every day.

Brand Promotion

Our general marketing efforts are designed to build brand awareness and reputation and to attract and retain borrowers and investors. We believe reputation and word-of-mouth drive continued organic growth in our borrower and investor bases. In this respect, our association with CreditEase is a valuable marketing and promotion asset.

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Competition

The online consumer finance marketplace industry in China is intensely competitive and we compete with other consumer finance marketplaces. Our key competitor is Lufax (). In light of the low barriers to entry in the online consumer finance industry, more players may enter this market and increase the level of competition. We anticipate that more established internet, technology and financial services companies that possess large, existing user bases, substantial financial resources and established distribution channels may enter the market in the future.

We also compete with other financial products and companies that attract borrowers, investors or both. With respect to borrowers, we compete with other consumer finance marketplaces and traditional financial institutions, such as consumer finance business units in commercial banks, credit card issuers and other consumer finance companies. With respect to investors, we primarily compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, bank savings accounts and real estate.

Intellectual Property

We regard our trademarks, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark and trade secret law and confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. We have made application for two trademarks and for the transfer of five trademarks from CreditEase to us, all of which are pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have obtained a worldwide, royalty-free and exclusive license from CreditEase to use certain trademarks relating to our business, which CreditEase is in the process of transferring to us. As of the date of this annual report, a total of six trademarks have been transferred to us by CreditEase. We have also obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, including “” (Chinese equivalent for CreditEase).

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of our technology is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our technology. From time to time, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources.

In addition, third parties may initiate litigation against us alleging infringement of their proprietary rights or declaring their non-infringement of our intellectual property rights. In the event of a successful claim of infringement and our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Moreover, even if we are able to license the infringed or similar technology, license fees could be substantial and may adversely affect our results of operations.

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.”

Insurance

We maintain property insurance policies covering certain equipment and other property that are essential to our business operation to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. We also provide social security insurance including pension insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance and medical insurance for our employees. We do not maintain business interruption insurance or general third-party liability insurance, nor do we maintain product liability insurance or key-man insurance. We consider our insurance coverage to be sufficient for our business operations in China.

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Seasonality

We experience seasonality in our business, reflecting seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional personal consumption patterns, as our individual borrowers typically use their borrowing proceeds to finance their personal consumption needs. For example, we generally experience lower transaction value on our online consumer finance marketplace during national holidays in China, particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday season in the first quarter of each year. Overall, the historical seasonality of our business has been mild due to our rapid growth but may increase further in the future. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not apply to, or be indicative of, our future operating results.

Regulation

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in China.

As an online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors with individual borrowers, we are regulated by various government authorities, including, among others:

·                  the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, regulating the telecommunications and telecommunications-related activities, including, but not limited to, the internet information services and other value-added telecommunication services;

·                  the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, as the central bank of China, regulating the formation and implementation of monetary policy, issuing the currency, supervising the commercial banks and assisting the administration of the financing;

·                  China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, regulating financial institutions and promulgating the regulations related to the administration of financial institutions.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment

Industry Catalog Relating to Foreign Investment

Investment activities in the PRC by foreign investors are principally governed by the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment, or the Catalog, which was promulgated and is amended from time to time by the MOC and the National Development and Reform Commission. Industries listed in the Catalog are divided into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally deemed as constituting a fourth “permitted” category. Establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises is generally allowed in encouraged and permitted industries. Some restricted industries are limited to equity or contractual joint ventures, while in some cases Chinese partners are required to hold the majority interests in such joint ventures. In addition, restricted category projects are subject to higher-level government approvals. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries in the prohibited category. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations.

Our PRC subsidiaries are mainly engaged in providing investment and financing consultations and technical services, which fall into the “encouraged” or “permitted” category under the Catalog. Our PRC subsidiaries have obtained all material approvals required for its business operations. However, industries such as value-added telecommunication services (except e-commerce), including internet information services, are restricted from foreign investment. We provide the value-added telecommunication services that are in the “restricted” category through our consolidated variable interest entities, Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management.

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Foreign Investment in Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The Provisions on Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunications Enterprises promulgated by the State Council in December 2001 and subsequently amended in September 2008 prohibit a foreign investor from owning more than 50% of the total equity interest in any value-added telecommunications service business in China and require the major foreign investor in any value-added telecommunications service business in China have a good and profitable record and operating experience in this industry. The Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment amended in 2015 and Circular 196 promulgated by MIIT in June 2015 allow a foreign investor to own more than 50% of the total equity interest in an online data processing and transaction business (e-commerce business).

In July 2006, the Ministry of Information Industry, the predecessor of the MIIT, issued the Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Operation of Value-added Telecommunications Business, pursuant to which a domestic PRC company that holds an operating license for value-added telecommunications business, which we refer to as the VATS License, is prohibited from leasing, transferring or selling the VATS License to foreign investors in any form and from providing any assistance, including resources, sites or facilities, to foreign investors that conduct a value-added telecommunications business illegally in China. Further, the domain names and registered trademarks used by an operating company providing value-added telecommunications services must be legally owned by that company or its shareholders. In addition, the VATS License holder must have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and to maintain the facilities in the regions covered by its VATS License.

In light of the above restrictions and requirements, we operate our online marketplaces through Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entities. Heng Cheng has received an ICP License, the VATS License for internet information services, and Yi Ren Wealth Management is in the process of applying for an ICP License. CreditEase currently owns certain trademarks relating to our value-added telecommunications business. CreditEase is in the process of transferring these trademarks to Heng Cheng in order to comply with the requirement that registered trademarks used by an operating company providing value-added telecommunications services must be legally owned by that company or its shareholders.

Regulations Relating to Online Lending Information Intermediary

Due to the relatively brief history of the online lending information intermediary service industry in China, the regulatory framework governing our industry has not developed comprehensively. Even though few specific regulations on online lending information intermediary service industry have been issued in the past two years, detailed interpretation and implementation guidelines have yet to be promulgated by the regulators. In addition, there are certain other general rules, laws and regulations that may be relevant or applicable to the online lending information intermediary service industry, including the PRC Contract Law, the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC, and related judicial interpretations promulgated by the Supreme People’s Court.

Regulations on Loans between Individuals

The PRC Contract Law governs the formation, validity, performance, enforcement and assignment of contracts. The PRC Contract Law confirms the validity of loan agreement between individuals and provides that the loan agreement becomes effective when the individual lender provides the loan to the individual borrower. The PRC Contract Law requires that the interest rates charged under the loan agreement must not violate the applicable provisions of the PRC laws and regulations. In accordance with the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Laws Applicable to Trials of Private Lending Cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court on August 6, 2015, or the Private Lending Judicial Interpretations, which came into effect on September 1, 2015, private lending is defined as financing between individuals, legal entities and other organizations. When private loans between individuals are paid by wire transfer, through online lending information intermediaries or by other similar means, the loan contracts between individuals are deemed to be validated upon the deposit of funds to the borrower’s account. In the event that the loans are made through an online lending information intermediary, which only provides intermediary services, the courts will dismiss the claims of the parties concerned against the platform demanding the repayment of loans by the platform as guarantors. However, if the online lending information intermediary guarantees repayment of the loans as evidenced by its web page, advertisements or other media, or the court is provided with other proof, the lender’s claim alleging that the online lending information intermediary assumes the obligations of a guarantor will be upheld by the courts. The Private Lending Judicial Interpretations also provide that agreements between the lender and borrower on loans with interest rates below 24% per annum are valid and enforceable. As to loans with interest rates per annum between 24% and 36%, if the interest on the loans has already been paid to the lender, and so long as such payment has not damaged the interest of the state, the community and any third parties, the courts will turn down the borrower’s request to demand the return of the interest payment. If the annual interest rate of a private loan is higher than 36%, the excess will not be enforced by the courts. The APRs for the term loans on our marketplace currently range from 16.9% to 39.5%, which comprises a fixed interest rate and a transaction fee rate we charge borrowers for our services. See “—Our Products and Services—Loan Pricing Mechanism.” The interest rate component, which is stipulated in the loan agreements, does not and is not expected to exceed the mandatory limit for loan interest rates.

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Pursuant to the PRC Contract Law, a creditor may assign its rights under an agreement to a third party, provided that the debtor is notified. Upon due assignment of the creditor’s rights, the assignee is entitled to the creditor’s rights and the debtor must perform the relevant obligations under the agreement for the benefit of the assignee. We operate a secondary loan market on our platform where investors can transfer the loans they hold to other investors before the loan reaches maturity. To facilitate the assignment of the loans, the template loan agreement applicable to the lenders and borrowers on our platform specifically provides that a lender has the right to assign his/her rights under the loan agreement to any third parties and the borrower agrees to such assignment.

In addition, according to the PRC Contract Law, an intermediation contract is a contract whereby an intermediary presents to its client an opportunity for entering into a contract or provides the client with other intermediary services in connection with the conclusion of a contract, and the client pays the intermediary service fees. Our business of connecting investors with individual borrowers may constitute intermediary service, and our service agreements with borrowers and investors may be deemed as intermediation contracts under the PRC Contract Law. Pursuant to the PRC Contract Law, an intermediary must provide true information relating to the proposed contract. If an intermediary conceals any material fact intentionally or provides false information in connection with the conclusion of the proposed contract, which results in harm to the client’s interests, the intermediary may not claim for service fees and is liable for the damages caused.

Regulations on Illegal Fund-Raising

Raising funds by entities or individuals from the general public must be conducted in strict compliance with applicable PRC laws and regulations to avoid administrative and criminal liabilities. The Measures for the Banning of Illegal Financial Institutions and Illegal Financial Business Operations promulgated by the State Council in July 1998 and amended in January 2011, and the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning the Penalty on Illegal Fund-Raising issued by the General Office of the State Council in July 2007, explicitly prohibit illegal public fund-raising. The main features of illegal public fund-raising include: (i) illegally soliciting and raising funds from the general public by means of issuing stocks, bonds, lotteries or other securities without obtaining the approval of relevant authorities, (ii) promising a return of interest or profits or investment returns in cash, properties or other forms within a specified period of time, and (iii) using a legitimate form to disguise the unlawful purpose.

To further clarify the criminal charges and punishments relating to illegal public fund-raising, the Supreme People’s Court promulgated the Judicial Interpretations to Issues Concerning Applications of Laws for Trial of Criminal Cases on Illegal Fund-Raising, or the Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations, which came into force in January 2011. The Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations provide that a public fund-raising will constitute a criminal offense related to “illegally soliciting deposits from the public” under the PRC Criminal Law, if it meets all the following four criteria: (i) the fund-raising has not been approved by the relevant authorities or is concealed under the guise of legitimate acts; (ii) the fund-raising employs general solicitation or advertising such as social media, promotion meetings, leafleting and SMS advertising; (iii) the fundraiser promises to repay, after a specified period of time, the capital and interests, or investment returns in cash, properties in kind and other forms; and (iv) the fund-raising targets at the general public as opposed to specific individuals. An illegal fund-raising activity will be fined or prosecuted in the event that it constitutes a criminal offense. Pursuant to the Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations, an offender that is an entity will be subject to criminal liabilities, if it illegally solicits deposits from the general public or illegally solicits deposits in disguised form (i) with the amount of deposits involved exceeding RMB1,000,000 (US$144,030), (ii) with over 150 fund-raising targets involved, or (iii) with the direct economic loss caused to fund-raising targets exceeding RMB500,000 (US$72,015), or (iv) the illegal fund-raising activities have caused baneful influences to the public or have led to other severe consequences. An individual offender is also subject to criminal liabilities but with lower thresholds. In addition, an individual or an entity who has aided in illegal fund-raising from the general public and charges fees including but not limited to agent fees, rewards, rebates and commission, constitute an accomplice of the crime of illegal fund-raising. In accordance with the Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procurator and the Ministry of Public Security on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Illegal Fund-Raising Criminal Cases, the administrative proceeding for determining the nature of illegal fund-raising activities is not a prerequisite procedure for the initiation of criminal proceeding concerning the crime of illegal fund-raising, and the administrative departments’ failure in determining the nature of illegal fund-raising activities does not affect the investigation, prosecution and trial of cases concerning the crime of illegal fund-raising.

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We have taken measures to avoid conducting any activities that are prohibited under the illegal-funding related laws and regulations. We act as a platform for borrowers and investors and are not a party to the loans facilitated through our platform. In addition, we do not directly receive any funds from investors in our own accounts as funds loaned through our platform are deposited into and settled by a third-party custody account managed by China Guangfa Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in China.

Regulations on Online Lending Information Intermediary Service Provider

In July 2015, ten PRC regulatory agencies, including the PBOC, the MIIT and the CBRC, jointly issued the Guidelines on Promoting the Healthy Development of Online Finance Industry, or the Guidelines. The Guidelines sets forth certain core principles for the online lending information intermediary service industry. Based on the core principles under the Guidelines, in August 2016, the CBRC, the MIIT, the PRC Ministry of Public Security and the PRC State Internet Information Office issued the Interim Measures on Administration of Business Activities of Online Lending Information Intermediaries, or the Interim Measures. The Interim Measures defines online lending as the direct lending among individuals (including natural persons, legal persons and other organizations) through Internet platforms, and the online  lending information intermediaries as the legally established financial information intermediaries specialized in the online lending information intermediary business, which provide, mainly through Internet, such services as information collection, information release, credit assessment, information exchange, and lending matchmaking to facilitate the direct lending between borrowers and lenders.

The Interim Measures require the online lending information intermediaries and their branches that propose to carry out the online lending information intermediary services to file a record with the local financial regulatory department at the place where it is registered with the local administration for industry and commerce within 10 business days upon obtaining the business license.  Local financial regulatory departments have the power to assess and classify the online lending information intermediaries which have filed a record, and to publicize the record-filing information and the classification results on their respective official websites in a timely manner.  However, specific rules and procedures on the record-filing, assessment and classification of the online lending information intermediaries, particularly those in existence before the promulgation of the Interim Measures, are yet to be formulated and issued. Institutions engaged in the online lending information intermediary business must explicitly identify the online lending information intermediaries in their business scope.

The online lending information intermediaries are prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities, among other things: (i) financing for themselves directly or in a disguised form; (ii) accepting, collecting or gathering funds of lenders directly or indirectly; (iii) providing security to lenders or promising break-even principals and interests directly or in a disguised form; (iv) advertising or promoting financing projects on other physical premises other than such digital channels as the Internet, fixed-line telephone or mobile phone by themselves or upon entrustment or authorization of any third party; (v) providing loans, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and regulations; (vi) splitting the term of any financing project; (vii) raising funds by issuing such financial products as wealth management products by themselves, or selling wealth management products of banks, assets management products of securities traders, funds, insurance, trust products or other financial products on a commission basis; (viii) carrying out any business analogous to asset securitization or conducting transfer of creditor’s rights in the form of packaged assets, asset-backed securities, trust assets or fund units, among others; (ix) engaging in any form of mixture, bundling or agency with other businesses such as institutional investment, sale on a commission basis and brokerage, unless otherwise permitted by laws, regulations and relevant regulatory provisions on online lending information intermediaries; (x) false statement, misrepresenting or failure to disclose important information regarding the financial projects; (xi) providing information intermediary services for those highly risky financing projects whose purpose is investing in stock market, over-the-counter financing, futures contracts, structured products and other derivatives; and (xii) engaging in equity-based crowd funding.

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The Interim Measures do not allow (i) the balance of money borrowed by the same natural person and the same legal person or other organization on the same online lending information intermediary platform to exceed RMB200,000 (US$28,806) and RMB1,000,000 (US$144,030.0), respectively; or (ii) the total balance of money borrowed by the same natural person and the same legal person or other organization on different online lending information intermediary platforms to exceed RMB1,000,000 (US$144,030.0) and RMB5,000,000 (US$720,150), respectively. The fund raising period set by an online lending information intermediary for each single financing project must not exceed 20 business days.

Further, the Interim Measures set forth certain information disclosure requirements for the online lending information intermediaries, including (i) fully disclosure on their respective official websites of the basic information of borrowers, basic information of financing projects, risk assessment, possible risk results, use of funds by the matched lending projects and other related information; (ii) publishing on their respective official websites matched lending projects and other information on their operation and management; (iii) maintaining certain column on their official websites for information on their business operation and management and regularly disclosing their annual reports, laws and regulations, and relevant regulatory provisions on the online lending information intermediary service industry to the public; (iv) retaining accounting firms to regularly audit the deposit and management of the lenders’ and borrowers’ funds, information disclosure, security of information technology infrastructure, compliance of operation and other key processes, and also retaining qualified information security assessment and certification institutions to regularly assess and certify their information security, and disclose to lenders, borrowers and others such auditing, assessment and certification results.

Anti-money Laundering Regulations

The PRC Anti-money Laundering Law, which became effective in January 2007, sets forth the principal anti-money laundering requirements applicable to financial institutions as well as non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations, including the adoption of precautionary and supervisory measures, establishment of various systems for client identification, retention of clients’ identification information and transactions records, and reports on large transactions and suspicious transactions. According to the PRC Anti-money Laundering Law, financial institutions subject to the PRC Anti-money Laundering Law include banks, credit unions, trust investment companies, stock brokerage companies, futures brokerage companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions as listed and published by the State Council, while the list of the non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations will be published by the State Council. The PBOC and other governmental authorities issued a series of administrative rules and regulations to specify the anti-money laundering obligations of financial institutions and certain non-financial institutions, such as payment institutions. However, the State Council has not promulgated the list of the non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations.

The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015, purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online lending information intermediaries, to comply with certain anti-money laundering requirements, including the establishment of a customer identification program, the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, the preservation of customer information and transaction records, and the provision of assistance to the public security department and judicial authority in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 require the online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to comply with certain anti-money laundering obligations, including verifying customer identification, reporting suspicious transactions and preserving customer information and transaction records. The Custodian Guidelines issued by PBOC in February 2017 require the online lending platforms to set up custody accounts with commercial banks and comply with the anti-money laundry requirements of the relevant commercial banks.

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In cooperation with our partnering custody banks and payment companies, we have adopted various policies and procedures, such as internal controls and “know-your-customer” procedures, for anti-money laundering purposes.

Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The Telecommunications Regulations promulgated by the State Council and its related implementation rules, including the Catalog of Classification of Telecommunications Business issued by the MIIT, categorize various types of telecommunications and telecommunications-related activities into basic or value-added telecommunications services, while internet information services, or ICP services, and data processing and transaction processing services, or EDI services, are classified as value-added telecommunications businesses. In 2009, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Telecommunications Business Operating Licenses, which set forth more specific provisions regarding the types of licenses required to operate value-added telecommunications services, the qualifications and procedures for obtaining such licenses and the administration and supervision of such licenses. Under these regulations, a commercial operator of value-added telecommunications services must first obtain a license for value-added telecommunications business, or VATS License, from the MIIT or its provincial level counterparts, which must identify the specific type of value-added telecommunications services it provides. An internet information service provider must obtain a VATS License for internet information services, or ICP License and a data processing and transaction processing service provider must obtain a VATS License for data processing and transaction processing services, or EDI License.

In September 2000, the State Council also issued the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, which was amended in January 2011. Pursuant to these measures, “internet information services” refer to provision of internet information to online users, and are divided into “commercial internet information services” and “non-commercial internet information services.” A commercial internet information services operator must obtain a VATS License for internet information services, or ICP License, from the relevant government authorities before engaging in any commercial internet information services operations in China. The ICP License has a term of five years and can be renewed within 90 days before expiration.

Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity operating our online marketplace and Yi Ren Wealth Management, our consolidated variable interest entity operating our wealth management website and mobile application, may be deemed to be providing commercial internet information services and data processing and transaction processing services, which would require Heng Cheng and Yi Ren Wealth Management to obtain an ICP License and an EDI License. Heng Cheng has an ICP License for provision of commercial internet information services issued by Beijing Telecommunication Administration Bureau in April 2015, and Yi Ren Wealth Management is in the process of applying for an ICP License. The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015, purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online lending information intermediaries, to complete registration with the relevant local counterpart of the MIIT in accordance with implementation regulations that may be promulgated by the MIIT and/or the Office for Cyberspace Affairs pursuant to the Guidelines. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 require the online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to apply for appropriate telecommunication business license in accordance with the relevant requirements of telecommunication authorities subsequent to completion of the record-filing with the local financial regulatory department. In accordance with the Guidelines and the Interim Measures, the relevant authorities are in the process of making detailed implementation rules in relation to the record-filing procedures, as well as the application procedures for appropriate telecommunication business license by online lending information intermediaries. We plan to apply for any requisite telecommunication services license once the detailed implementation rules become available.

Regulations on Internet Information Security

Internet information in China is also regulated and restricted from a national security standpoint. The National People’s Congress, China’s national legislative body, has enacted the Decisions on Maintaining Internet Security, which may subject violators to criminal punishment in China for any effort to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual property rights. The Ministry of Public Security has promulgated measures that prohibit use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an internet information service provider violates these measures, the Ministry of Public Security and the local security bureaus may revoke its operating license and shut down its websites.

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In addition, the Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online lending information intermediaries, to improve technology security standards, and safeguard customer and transaction information. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 requires the online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to (i) carry out grading filing and testing for their information systems, (ii) implement thorough cyberspace security facilities and management measures, including firewall, intrusion detect, data encryption, and disaster recovery, etc., (iii) establish information technology management, technology risk management, technology auditing and related systems, (iv) allocate sufficient resources and implement thorough management and control measures and technological means to ensure safe and steady operation of their information systems, (v) protect the security of the information of lenders and borrowers, (vi) carry out a comprehensive security evaluation at least once every two years, (vii) accept the information security inspection and auditing by competent authorities, and (viii) establish or adopt application-level disaster recovery systems and facilities compatible with their business scales within two years after their establishment.

Regulations on Privacy Protection

In recent years, PRC government authorities have enacted laws and regulations on internet use to protect personal information from any unauthorized disclosure. Under the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, issued by the MIIT in December 2011, an ICP service operator may not collect any user personal information or provide any such information to third parties without the consent of a user. An ICP service operator must expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose of the collection and processing of such user personal information and may only collect such information necessary for the provision of its services. An ICP service operator is also required to properly maintain the user personal information, and in case of any leak or likely leak of the user personal information, the ICP service operator must take immediate remedial measures and, in severe circumstances, make an immediate report to the telecommunications regulatory authority. In addition, pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in December 2012 and the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information issued by the MIIT in July 2013, any collection and use of user personal information must be subject to the consent of the user, abide by the principles of legality, rationality and necessity and be within the specified purposes, methods and scopes. An ICP service operator must also keep such information strictly confidential, and is further prohibited from divulging, tampering or destroying of any such information, or selling or providing such information to other parties. An ICP service operator is required to take technical and other measures to prevent the collected personal information from any unauthorized disclosure, damage or loss. Any violation of these laws and regulations may subject the ICP service operator to warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses, cancellation of filings, closedown of websites or even criminal liabilities. The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 also prohibit internet finance service providers, including online lending information intermediaries, from illegally selling or disclosing customers’ personal information. The PBOC and other relevant regulatory authorities will jointly adopt the implementing rules. The Interim Measures jointly issued by four PRC regulatory agencies in August 2016 requires the online lending information intermediaries, among other things, to strengthen the management of lenders’ and borrowers’ information to ensure the legitimacy and security regarding the collection, processing and use of lenders’ and borrowers’ information, to keep confidential the lenders’ and borrowers’ information collected in the course of their business, and not to use such information for any other purpose except for services they provide without approval of lenders or borrowers. The lenders’ and borrowers’ information collected within the territory of China shall be stored, processed and analyzed within the territory of China. The online lending information intermediaries shall not provide the lenders’ and borrowers’ information to any party located outside the territory of China, unless otherwise required by laws and regulations. Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August 2015 and becoming effective in November, 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, shall be subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtain any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.

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Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights

The PRC has adopted comprehensive legislation governing intellectual property rights, including trademarks. The PRC Trademark Law and its implementation rules protect registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. The Trademark Office under the State Administration of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the registration and administration of trademarks throughout the PRC, and grants a term of ten years to registered trademarks and another ten years if requested upon expiry of the initial or extended term. Trademark license agreements must be filed with the Trademark Office for record. As of the date of this annual report, we have made application for two trademarks and for the transfer of five trademarks from CreditEase to us, all of which are pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have obtained a worldwide, royalty-free and exclusive license from CreditEase to use certain trademarks relating to our business, which CreditEase is in the process of transferring to us. As of the date of this annual report, a total of six trademarks have been transferred to us by CreditEase. We also have obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, including “” (Chinese equivalent for CreditEase). However, the trademark licenses by CreditEase to us have not been filed with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Regulations Relating to Dividend Withholding Tax

Pursuant to the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, if a non-resident enterprise has not set up an organization or establishment in the PRC, or has set up an organization or establishment but the income derived has no actual connection with such organization or establishment, it will be subject to a withholding tax on its PRC-sourced income at a rate of 10%. Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a PRC enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise is reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10% if the Hong Kong enterprise directly holds at least 25% of the PRC enterprise. Pursuant to the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on the Issues concerning the Application of the Dividend Clauses of Tax Agreements, or Circular 81, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax: (i) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the PRC resident enterprise; and (ii) it must have directly owned such percentage in the PRC resident enterprise throughout the 12 months prior to receiving the dividends. There are also other conditions for enjoying the reduced withholding tax rate according to other relevant tax rules and regulations. In August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatments under Tax Treaties, or Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax rate. Instead, non-resident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and on confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-tax filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, Yirendai HK, our Hong Kong subsidiary, may be able to enjoy the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends they receive from Heng Ye and Heng Yu Da, our PRC subsidiaries, if they satisfy the conditions prescribed under Circular 81 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However, according to Circular 81 and Circular 60, if the relevant tax authorities consider the transactions or arrangements we have are for the primary purpose of enjoying a favorable tax treatment, the relevant tax authorities may adjust the favorable withholding tax in the future.

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Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange

Regulations on Foreign Currency Exchange

The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, most recently amended in August 2008. Under the PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. By contrast, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital account items, such as direct investments, repayment of foreign currency-denominated loans, repatriation of investments and investments in securities outside of China.