BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Overseas banks on the Chinese mainland are stepping up targeted support to aid the prevention and control of COVID-19 through donations and financing measures.
Data from the China Banking Association showed that as of Tuesday, 30 overseas banks on the mainland had released loans of over 7.4 billion yuan (about 1.06 billion U.S. dollars) for hard-hit firms, with rates 0.5 percentage points to 0.75 percentage points lower.
The banks also donated cash of more than 43.5 million yuan and 790,000 items of medical supplies.
U.S. financial giant JPMorgan Chase and UBS offered financial support for purchases of epidemic control materials, medical personnel and families with infected patients.
Banks like HSBC Bank (China), Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group purchased anti-virus supplies including masks, gloves, protective suits and goggles, giving full play to their global business capabilities.
Meanwhile, a raft of specific preferential policies have been imposed to support the epidemic control. The Bank of East Asia and Citibank waived fees on donations and supply purchasing, while Fubon Bank issued online loans for small and micro-enterprises.
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