The People's Bank of China is proposing stricter rules for issuing car loans amid growing concerns over the risk of borrowers defaulting, Reuters reported Dec. 26, citing a revised guidelines published on the bank's website.

The Chinese central bank wants lenders to step up efforts to assess customers' creditworthiness, including establishing a credit rating system and using an independent external credit rating facilities. The central bank also asked banks to seek valid guarantees from the borrowers before granting car loans.

The proposed guidelines are open for public comment until Jan. 27, 2017.

Car loans in China surged in recent years partially due to auto financing deals offered by the automakers.