China Frees Banks to Lend More, Cuts Key Interest Rate
China's central bank has announced a sweep of support for the economy, as pressure mounts on authorities to unleash stimulus and hit this year's growth target of around 5%.
China will help banks boost lending to consumers, cut its key short-term interest rate, and lower the mortgage rate for existing housing loans, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said Tuesday at a briefing in Beijing.
The reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve, will be lowered by 0.5 percentage points. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate will be lowered to 1.5% from 1.7%
President Xi Jinping's government has enacted piecemeal rate cuts that have so far failed to arrest a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy, with growth weakening further after grinding to its worst pace in five quarters. That deterioration is testing the Chinese leadership's tolerance for missing its high-profile annual target for the second time in three years, at a moment when investor confidence is waning.
China's property rescue package unveiled in May has failed to turn around a years-long real estate slump that's wiped out an estimated $18 trillion in wealth from households. Only 29 cities out of 200 urged to participate are heeding Beijing's call to help absorb an excess of housing. New home prices clocked their biggest decline last month from July since 2014.
The central bank governor made the latest announcement at his first high-profile press conference since March, when he defended the government's growth goal of about 5% alongside other top economic officials.
The PBOC chief has displayed a more transparent approach to policy this year, in a bid to stabilize sentiment. Pan used a similar briefing in January to announce a cut to the amount of money banks must hold in reserve two weeks ahead of time, as authorities tried to halt a $6 trillion stock-market rout.
Source: Bloomberg
