China bans new deposit certificates, tightening screws on interbank lending to curb risks
The central bank will ban financial institutions from issuing interbank negotiable certificates of deposit with maturity of more than one year from September 1
China has tightened the scrutiny of interbank funding by banning new issues of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) from September 1 as part of its broader drive to curb financial risks.
From Friday, financial institutions will not be allowed to issue interbank NCDs exceeding one year, the People’s Bank of China said on its website on Thursday.
China had previously allowed the issuance of certificates with maturities of two and three years. The central bank said existing long-term NCDs would be allowed to run their course until maturity.
The certificates, introduced in China in 2013, are an important source of funding for smaller banks that find it harder to attract saving deposits due to their limited network.
NCD issues have grown quickly over the last two years, with smaller lenders using them to aggressively raise money to invest in higher yield but risky instruments to profit from the spread.
Authorities who have been alerted to the heightened risks from the growing volume have stepped up scrutiny this year.
China’s interbank business shrank in the first half of the year for the first time since 2010 as the crackdown on financial risks took effect, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).