On July 5, the PBC decided to lower the RMB benchmark deposit and loan interest rates of financial institutions as of July 6, 2012. The one-year RMB benchmark deposit rate was cut from 3.25 percent to 3 percent, down 0.25 percentage points. The one-year benchmark loan rate was cut from 6.31 percent to 6 percent, down 0.31 percentage points. Corresponding adjustments were made to the benchmark interest rates on deposits and loans of other maturities and to deposit and loan interest rates on loans from housing provident funds. In the meantime, the lower bound of the floating range for loan interest rates will be 0.7 times the benchmark interest rate.
On July 16, the PBC reported to the Finance and Economy Committee of the National People’s Congress on monetary policy implementation in the first half of 2012.
On July 31, in order to strengthen management of RMB bank accounts of overseas institutions and facilitate international trade and investment, the PBC issued the Notice on Opening and Use of RMB Bank Accounts by Overseas Institutions (PBC Document [2012] No.183).
On August 2, the China Monetary Policy Report for Q2 2012 was released.
On August 23, to facilitate the financial sector to serve the real economy, and to enable the agro-linked central bank loans to encourage financial institutions to extend more loans to the agricultural sector, the PBC issued the Notice on Expanding the Pilot Areas of Agro-linked Central Bank Loans (PBC Document [2012] No. 207). According to the Notice, a pilot program of agro-linked central bank loans will be carried out in Heilongjiang Province and Shaanxi Province to provide agro-linked central bank loans to an expanded group of deposit-taking financial institutions including rural commercial banks, rural cooperative banks, rural credit cooperatives, and village and township banks, not only those with legal person status at the county- or village-level, but also the afore-mentioned four kinds of financial institutions located in urban areas whose agro-linked loans account for no less than 70 percent of their total loans.
On August 31, the Memorandum of Cooperation on Cross-Straits Currency Clearing was signed by monetary authorities of the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan Province. The two sides agreed to establish a cross-Straits currency clearing mechanism based on the principles and cooperation framework as specified in the Memorandum.
On September 17, with the approval of the State Council, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Financial Sector Development and Reform, jointly formulated by the PBC, the CBRC, the CSRC, the CIRC, and the SAFE, was released.
On September 24, the PBC and the Macao Branch of the Bank of China renewed the Agreement on Clearing of RMB Business.
On September 24, the Monetary Policy Committee of the PBC convened its third regular quarterly meeting in 2012.
