PBOC to expand reserve requirement base

Updated: 2011-08-29 13:23

By Qiang Xiaoji (chinadaily.com.cn)

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The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, has issued a notice announcing plans to include margin deposit in the reserve requirement. The margin deposit includes acceptances, letters of credit and letters of guarantee, cnstock.com reported Monday.

The new policy will freeze about 900 billion yuan ($133.83 billion) bank capital. The effect is equivalent to raising the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by three times, the report said.

The current reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for major banks is 21.5 percent. For small and medium-sized banks, it is 19.5 percent.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank of China will begin to pay the first margin deposit for the reserve requirement on Sept 5. The other banks will begin to pay from Sept 15.

The central bank has yet to confirm the exact details of the margin deposit.