On January 15, with RMB779 billion worth of medium-term lending facility (MLF) expired, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) conducted MLF operations in the amount of RMB995 billion, with an interest rate of 2.5 percent, unchanged from the previous operations.
On January 22, with the authorization of the PBOC, the National Interbank Funding Center (NIFC) announced the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) as follows: the one-year and the over-five-year LPR would be 3.45 percent and 4.20 percent, respectively, unchanged from the previous announcement.
On January 24, with the joint efforts of the PBOC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), RMB government bonds and policy financial bonds under the Northbound Bond Connect were included in the list of eligible collateral for its Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement (RMBLA).
On January 25, the PBOC cut the interest rate on central bank lending for rural development, the interest rate on central bank lending for micro and small businesses (MSBs), and the central bank discount rate by 0.25 percentage points. After the cuts, the three-month, six-month, and one-year interest rates on central bank lending for rural development and MSBs registered at 1.45 percent, 1.65 percent, and 1.75 percent, respectively, and the central bank discount rate registered at 1.75 percent.
On February 5, the PBOC cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by 0.5 percentage points (excluding those that had already implemented a RRR of 5 percent).
On February 8, the PBOC released the China Monetary Policy Report (Q4 2023).
On February 18, with the expiration of RMB499 billion of MLF, the PBOC conducted MLF operations in the amount of RMB500 billion, with an interest rate of 2.5 percent, unchanged from previous operations.
On February 20, with the authorization of the PBOC, the NIFC announced the LPR as follows: the one-year LPR would be 3.45 percent, unchanged from the previous announcement, and the over-five-year LPR would be 3.95 percent, down 25 basis points from the previous announcement.
On February 29, to further clarify the requirements for over-the-counter (OTC) bond business varieties, trading methods, and investor account opening, facilitate the participation of residents and other institutional investors in bond investments, expand the channels for people to increase property income, optimize the structure of the financial system, and enhance the operational efficiency of the bond market, the PBOC issued the Notice on Matters Concerning OTC Business in the Interbank Bond Market.
On March 15, with the expiration of RMB481 billion of MLF, the PBOC conducted MLF operations in the amount of RMB387 billion, with an interest rate of 2.5 percent, unchanged from the previous operations.
On March 20, with the authorization of the PBOC, the NIFC announced the LPR as follows: the one-year and the over-five-year LPR would be 3.45 percent and 3.95 percent, respectively, unchanged from the previous announcement.
On March 29, the PBOC Monetary Policy Committee held its first quarterly meeting of 2024.
