(Yicai Global) July 10 -- The People's Bank of China recently held a meeting on the next phase of its special rectification of internet finance risks. It will take one to two years to complete a reorganization, mitigate current risks, and avert potential ones while devising a regulatory system adapted to the sector's features, said Pan Gongsheng, PBOC's deputy governor, the central bank's website said yesterday.

The meeting noted the big drop in overall risks in the sector and gradual improvement of regulation, but highlighted the difficulty of preventing and resolving such risks and improving oversight.

The next-phase correction is crucial, and local authorities must clarify policy, focus on key businesses, regions and institutions, impose penalties, and speed the elimination of illegal businesses in a stable, orderly manner, Pan stressed.

The number of peer-to-peer lenders in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou fell below 1,000 to 998 by the end of last month, data shows. Shanghai ranked top with 21 closed and problematic platforms, while Beijing and Guangdong had 10 each. Further, 42 P2P lending platforms shut down nationwide within one week following the June 18 Dragon Boat Festival in a development that worried many investors.

Good news was that the sector performed well in June's financing boom, with six funding cases, among them Zhejiang Caogen Network Technology and Jiufu Group securing a combined CNY3.5 billion (USD530 million), with Caogen's Series-D CNY2.3 billion forming the bulk, Securities Times reported.

Editor: Ben Armour