The pent-up demand by banks for consumer credit information was extremely high—the number of inquiries in Shanghai soared from 300 in 2000 to 100,000 in 2004.viii Based on this exponential growth, PBC and Shanghai authorities quickly realized that a local credit information database was inadequate for an increasingly mobile population. As individuals moved in and out of the city seeking better job opportunities, many disappeared without a trace. As a result, bank records were incomplete or non-existent for recent arrivals. Learning from the problems encountered during this early experience, the PBC prepared to roll out a nationwide system.