IMF exec touts CBDC programmability, Communist China style credit scoring

The deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) touts how Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) can be programmed to determine what people can own while highlighting the Communist China model of using the data for credit scoring.

Speaking at a high-level roundtable on CBDC in Washington, DC on Friday, IMF deputy managing director and former People’s Bank of China (PBoC) deputy governor Bo Li said that he believed CBDC programmability could improve financial inclusion.

He also explained how institutions could take advantage of CBDC transactional data by following the model of Communist China where “non-traditional data can be very useful for financial service providers to give me a credit score.”

“By programming CBDC, money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own and what kind of use this money can be utilized” — Bo Li, IMF, October 2022

“CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program — to create smart contracts — to allow targeted policy functions. For example, welfare payment; for example, consumption coupons; for example, food stamps,” said Li.

“By programming CBDC, those [sic] money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own and what kind of use this money can be utilized,” he added.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li “is responsible for the IMF’s work on about 90 countries as well as on a wide range of policy issues” — IMF

Since Friday, the video of the IMF event I posted above has tallied nearly half a million views thanks to TruthTalk UK editor and friend of The Sociable Sikh For Truth, who created a Twitter thread that “got 222K impressions and 1722 retweets from people like @OffGuardian0, @_InThisTogether, and @Jennifer_Arcuri.”

“I can give you one example in China, those transaction data can be utilized by service providers in credit underwriting” — Bo Li, IMF, October 2022

Digging deeper, the TruthTalk UK editor expanded on the thread to highlight how the IMF executive touted how CBDC could be applied to the Chinese model of using transactional data for credit scoring:

When questioned on how this transactional data could be used, Bo Li explained: “I can give you one example in China, those transaction data can be utilised by service providers in credit underwriting.”

Underwriting is the process by which the lender decides whether an applicant is creditworthy and should receive a loan.

“Those transaction data in terms of how many coffees I drink every day, where I buy coffee, do I use UBER every day and what kind of working hours I have. Those non-traditional data can be very useful for financial service providers to give me a credit score and based on that credit score the service providers can give me a credit line without any face-to-face due diligence.”

He continues to say that this “will create value in addition to finance and that data can be very profitable, and that’s the value we are talking about to make it attractive to private sector players to join this eco system.”

“Those non-traditional data can be very useful for financial service providers to give me a credit score” — Bo Li, IMF, October 2022

Sikh went on to warn:

“An international financial data heist has been perpetrated.

“It’s like the Chinese model, but every country has the option to do it differently. There is limited privacy. Setting thresholds for anonymizing lower transaction values. AML – Anti-Money Laundering.

“This live stream explained how central banks are working together. The IMF, World Bank, and BIS [Bank for International Settlements] are also managing many central banks to do this. There’s still a long way to go. But it’s coming.”

“Before joining the IMF, Mr. Li worked for many years at the People’s Bank of China, most recently as Deputy Governor […] where he played an important role in the internationalization of the renminbi” — IMF

Before joining the IMF in August, 2021, Bo Li was the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China where he was in charge of the “internationalization of the renmibi,” which is the official name of China’s currency.

A major part of China’s efforts to internationalize its renmibi is through its “Digital Currency/ Electronic Payment (DCEP)” system.

“The [Digital Currency / Electronic Payment] system will also enable the CCP to exercise greater control over private transactions, as well as to wield punitive power over Chinese citizens in tandem with the social credit system” — CNAS, January 2021

In January, 2021, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) published a report detailing China’s ambitions for an authoritarian DCEP system that would “enable the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] to exercise greater control over private transactions, as well as to wield punitive power over Chinese citizens in tandem with the social credit system.”

This initiative began while Li was still deputy governor of the PBoC.

China’s “Digital Currency / Electronic Payments offers a potential model for other central banks to emulate and, along with the technology itself, could help the CCP export its authoritarian practices and capabilities to other countries” — CNAS, January 2021

While the authoritarian use of financial data for a system of social crediting is already a reality in China, analysts at CNAS said that China would look to export the technocratic practice abroad.

“As Beijing attempts to export DCEP and its related technology, all while many nations are exploring CBDCs, the Chinese government may gain powerful influence in the development of the future global financial system,” the authors warned.

“DCEP offers a potential model for other central banks to emulate and, along with the technology itself, could help the CCP export its authoritarian practices and capabilities to other countries,” the CNAS researchers added.

Fast forward to today and the former deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, who was responsible for internationalizing China’s currency, is now responsible for the IMF’s work “on a wide range of policy issues” across 90 countries.

Speaking from his high-level position at the IMF, Li is currently touting Communist China’s approach to CBDC.