Negative credit record would be preserved for at most seven years, according to a draft regulation issued by the Legislative Affairs Office of China's State Council.

According to the Credit Management Ordinance (draft) published by the office Tuesday, credit agencies should not release or use negative credit records such as late payments, that happened five years go. They should not release or use clients' criminal records after the legal punishment expired seven years ago.

The draft was issued to solicit public opinions.

The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, set up a database in 2006 to keep records of all clients who have credit cards and credit history.