Chinese Central Bank Convenes Meeting with Key Financial Institutions, Calls for Accelerating the Pace of Credit Extension

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China’s top banking authorities have called for lenders to accelerate the pace of credit extension to the real economy, amidst heightened uncertainty in relation COVID-19 and geopolitical tension.

On 23 May the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) convened a meeting to analyse the monetary and lending conditions for key financial institutions.

In addition to PBOC governor Yi Gang (易纲), PBOC deputy-governor Pan Gongsheng (功胜) and CBIRC deputy chair Zhou Liang (周亮), executives from a total of 24 key Chinese financial institutions participated in the meeting.

“As a result of domestic and overseas factors, recent downwards economic pressure has further expanded,” said the Meeting.

“The financial system must further raise its political positioning, strengthen its broader awareness and sense of responsibility, and firmly implement the decisions of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council, by expanding the vigour of support for the real economy.

“The financial system must effectively employ various policy tools, and use appropriate growth in credit to support the high-quality development of the real economy,” said the Meeting. “[It] must accelerate the pace of the provision of funds for loans that have already been extended.”

The Meeting highlighted an especial focus on “key regions, sectors and industries,” including micro-and-small enterprises, green development, tech innovation, energy security, and hydrological infrastructure.

The Meeting also called for deferring repayments of the principal and interest for mortgages and consumer loans in areas that continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.