BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The central bank said Tuesday that directional bank reserve requirement ratio cuts would continue this year to reward commercial banks that support agriculture and small businesses.
The central bank has lowered the reserve requirement ratio this year for most of the country's commercial banks as they provided credit support as required for agriculture and small businesses in 2016, said an official with the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
The cuts will be effective Feb. 27, according to the official.
To encourage credit support for agriculture and small businesses, the central bank introduced directional bank reserve requirement ratio cuts in 2014. The list of commercial banks rewarded with lower deposit requirements are revealed in February every year.
The central bank reiterated in a quarterly report last Friday that it would implement a prudent and neutral monetary policy while keeping liquidity stable.
It did not touch on interest rate rises in the report, which indicated there is no imminent monetary tightening cycle, said analysts.
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