Specifically, Defendants made false and / or misleading statements and / or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company was engaged in predatory lending practices that saddled subprime borrowers and / or those with poor or limited credit histories with high - interest rate debt that they could not repay; (ii) many of the Company's customers were using Qudian -
provided loans to repay their existing loans, thereby inflating the Company's revenues and active borrower numbers and increasing the likelihood of defaults; (iii) the Company was
providing online loans to college students despite a governmental ban on the practice; (iv) the Company was engaged overly aggressive and improper collection practices; (v) the Company had understated the number of its non-performing loans in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; (vi) because of the Company's improper lending, underwriting and collection practices it was subject to a heightened risk of adverse actions
by Chinese regulators; (vii) the Company's
largest sales platform and strategic partner, Alipay, and Ant
Financial, could unilaterally cap the APR for loans provided by Qudian; (viii) the Company had failed to implement necessary safeguards to protect customer data; (ix) data for nearly one million Company customers had been leaked for sale to the black market, including names, addresses, phone numbers, loan information, accounts and, in some cases, passwords to CHIS, the state - backed higher - education qualification verification institution in China, subjecting the Company to undisclosed risks of penalties and financial and reputational harm; and (x) as a result of the foregoing, Qudian's public statements were materially false and misleading at all releva
Financial, could unilaterally cap the APR for loans
provided by Qudian; (viii) the Company had failed to implement necessary safeguards to protect customer data; (ix) data for nearly one million Company customers had been leaked for sale to the black market, including names, addresses, phone numbers, loan information, accounts and, in some cases, passwords to CHIS, the state - backed higher - education qualification verification
institution in China, subjecting the Company to undisclosed risks of penalties and
financial and reputational harm; and (x) as a result of the foregoing, Qudian's public statements were materially false and misleading at all releva
financial and reputational harm; and (x) as a result of the foregoing, Qudian's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
But
large commercial enterprises (in which I include insurers and
large professional services organisations, as well as major corporates, banks and other
financial institutions) need an effective and cost efficient civil justice system as much as anyone, to
provide certainty
by the adjudication of legitimate commercial disputes.