The People's Bank of China has again maintained the base interest rate on loans (LPR) for a period of one year at 3.65% per annum. The rate on five-year loans remained at 4.3% per annum. The PBC has not changed rates for six consecutive meetings. At the same time, many analysts believe that in the coming months the rate may be lowered to stimulate economic growth. The decision of the Chinese central bank did not surprise market participants, as last week the NBK left the interest rate on loans under the medium-term lending program (MLF) at 2.75% per annum. As you know, MLF is an important credit instrument that the NBK uses to provide liquidity to commercial banks and which directly affects its main LPR rate. The last time the central bank changed LPR rates was in August. Then the rate on annual loans was reduced by 5 basis points, and on five–year loans - by 15 bps. It is worth noting that LPR became a new benchmark in August 2019 after the Chinese Central Bank carried out interest rate reform. Since 2020, the NBK requires banks to focus specifically on LPR when determining rates on new loans.
