China to ease financial conditions, steps up effort to boost lending

While China has taken several steps to free up credit in recent weeks, the central bank's latest interactions with lenders suggest official efforts have intensified

China’s central bank has started actively encouraging banks to extend more credit by taking a softer stance on loan quotas, people familiar with the matter said, as authorities ratchet up efforts to bolster a cooling economy.

The People’s Bank of China has delivered the message via so-called window guidance, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The central bank hasn’t provided specific targets, but it indicated a willingness to be more flexible on banks’ government-imposed lending caps, the people said.
 

While China has taken several steps to free up credit in recent weeks, the central bank’s