China’s central bank has asked lenders to rein in credit supply, as the surge of lending that sustained the country’s debt-fuelled coronavirus recovery renewed concerns about asset bubbles and financial stability.
New loan growth hit 16 per cent in the first two months of the year. The People’s Bank of China responded in February by instructing domestic and foreign lenders operating in the country to keep new loans in the first quarter of the year at roughly the same level as last year, if not lower, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The directive could translate into a considerable drop in bank lending, the largest source of financing for the world’s second-largest economy.