China cuts standing lending facility interest rates

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — China’s central bank on Friday reduced the standing lending facility (SLF) interest rates by 20 basis points from the July levels.
The overnight, seven-day and one-month rates were lowered to 2.35 percent, 2.5 percent and 2.85 percent, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced.
The SLF, introduced by the central bank early in 2013, serves as a channel to meet the liquidity needs of financial institutions. These institutions can take out SLF loans from the central bank, using qualified bonds and other credit assets as collateral.
Also on Friday, the PBOC cut the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions by 0.5 percentage points and lowered the seven-day reverse repo interest rate by 20 basis points, enhancing policy support to solidify economic operations. ■