China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the 12th straight month at its April fixing on Tuesday, matching market expectations. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent. Twenty-seven traders and analysts of 30 participants in a Reuters poll this week predicted no change in either rate. Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages. Bank loans hit record high in first quarter as authorities balance growth and debt risk “Commercial banks left the loan prime rate on hold today. Given that official efforts to rein in credit are being achieved by other means, we do not expect any changes to policy rates in the coming months,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics. “With the economy doing well, policymakers are now focused on tackling financial risks. But political constraints mean that these efforts are unlikely to include policy rate hikes. Instead, policymakers have tightened quantitative controls – in March the [People’s Bank of China] told banks to cap 2021 lending at last year’s levels – and are paring back state support for bond issuers. This has already brought new borrowing back down close to pre-Covid levels. “The upshot is that, even in the absence of rate hikes, tighter credit conditions will become an increasing headwind to economic activity over the coming quarters.”