Bank of China (BOC) SME loan reviewed. See what we found and what you need to watch out for.

Seeing  so many “comparison” comparison websites or bloggers weighing in on Bank of China (BOC)'s SME loan, we thought we would chip in, but with a twist.

Not all comparison websites are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than sponsored listing sites, serving the advertisers that pay them.

Credit: Public review found on Seedly and Google

Across markets from the U.S. to Australia, regulators are finding that these platforms often prioritize results based on payment, not on what’s truly best for the customer or consumer. What you see isn’t always an unbiased comparison, but a filtered list bought by those who pay the most.

While general information, such as miles or points per dollar spent, is easy to research, loan amounts and interest rates are highly personal. They change from one customer to another based on each individual’s credit score & profile. That rate they “reviewed” or “compared” for you is actually a teaser rate. Here’s how it works in detail. They are rates that you may or may not get, and in many countries, regulators are either suing them for clickbaiting consumers or publishing warnings on them.

But if you are pressed for time, you don’t have to read the article above - even they admitted it themselves. See if you can catch it!

Credit: Head of Lendingpot. Strangely enough, Lendingpot appears to be exposing its own practices. For more of their contradiction or to join the conversation, click here. Interestingly, after we raised the conflict of interest of lender-owned brokers, they made the same point months later—despite being owned by IFS Capital & PhilipCapital. Blindly copying our articles? Perhaps it’s just coincidence, but the overlap is hard to miss.

Credit: Public review found on Seedly and Google

Every now and then, you’ll see them write comparisons like “this loan vs. that loan.” But think about it—if they claim to compare 10 loans, did they really take all 10 and pay interest on each one?

By law in the UK, at least 51% of customers must enjoy the quoted rate. Singapore has no similar law. And even if the rate is genuine, what about the loan amount or tenure? A 1% rate for $500 is of little use if you need $5,000 right? So being clickbaited, only to find out days later is no fun, right? The real issue, however, comes when you use a loan “comparison” website and just take the recommended loan. Without comparing further, you could pay thousands extra—since another bank could have offered a far lower rate. We’ve explained this in detail in the article above.

And thus we built FindTheLoan.com, Singapore’s 1st loan hub. Instead of teaser rates or applying with multiple lenders one by one, you can reach multiple lenders at once with your actual documents, and they will make a full credit assessment as if you had walked in to them individually, and they will revert with their actual offer. Learn more about us, how we are different, and what industry players say about us from our homepage. 

If you think something doesn’t look right, we invite you to share your thoughts on this LinkedIn post or on our Reddit, TikTok, or Facebook post, if you prefer. However, we have tagged a number of MPs on LinkedIn who, during parliament, have asked about matters such as greater consumer protections. Weighing in there, and as more people share their thoughts there, could finally catch their attention to do something about the industry and better protect borrowers. Every comment, repost, or show of support matters — it increases the chances that policymakers take notice and act.

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