China cuts medium-term lending rate
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Thursday cut a medium-term interest rate, marking the latest move by the authorities to boost economic growth. The country's central bank cut the rate for its medium-term lending facility (MLF) – the interest for one-year loans to financial institutions – to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent. The PBOC issued 200 billion yuan in one-year loans under its MLF at 2.3 percent. The last time the rate was cut was in August but the latest is the biggest since April 2020. Marco Sun, chief financial market analyst at MUFG Bank (China), said Thursday's move could reduce the cost of financing and release cash.  The unexpected MLF operation was also due to a large amount of MLF loans coming due, he added. On Monday, the PBOC cut two benchmark lending rates, days after the Communist Party's third plenary session which outlined major reforms. Meanwhile, major commercial banks announced reductions in deposit rates. The one-year fixed-term deposit interest rate for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank was cut by 10 basis points to 1.35 percent. This is the first deposit rate cut for state-owned big banks in 2024. (Agencies)