China's surprise loan easing to bolster fragile economic growth

Authorities signal concerns over financial headwinds from the West

20230320N Yuan notes REUTERS

China's central bank will cut financial institutions' reserve requirement ratio for the first time since December. © Reuters

IORI KAWATE, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- Chinese financial authorities have opened the monetary spigot sooner than expected in a preemptive attempt to underpin an economy making a tenuous recovery from zero-COVID policies.

The People's Bank of China said Friday that it would cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by 0.25 percentage point, the first reduction since December. Banks operating in China must park a certain percentage of funds with the PBOC, and trimming the RRR frees up liquidity for lending.

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