Some Chinese banks have suspended issuing credit cards to university students. This is a sharp contrast to last year when banks were competing fiercely to win students as credit card holders.

Xiao Guo is a freshman at a university in Beijing. At the beginning of the semester last year, many banks visited schools to issue credit cards. Students could get one easily without any proof of income.

Xiao Guo, one university student said "I have one credit card. But I do not use it at all."

Easy to get and no trouble to use. Many students have become credit card holders and some have come to rely on overdraw. But recently, banks have become more careful when deciding to issue credit cards to students. Some have even stopped this service altogether.

Telephone service of China Merchant Bank said "We have stopped issuing credit cards to university students. We suggest you apply after graduation."

The move is not just limited to China Merchants Bank. CITIC Bank and Industrial Bank have both suspended issuing credit cards to university students. And although some banks still offer the service, they have made it more difficult to apply for a card.

Zhong Xiangqun, Director of Personal Business, Bank of China said "We put strict controls on credit extensions to students. We want to control the risk."

Some banks now only issue credit cards to students in well-known universities. And others have lowered the credit limit from the previous 3,000 yuan to only a few hundred yuan.

(CCTV June 29, 2009)