Regulator orders efficient credit

China's banking regulator has asked banks and credit cooperatives to ensure credit to grain producers and agricultural firms yesterday, in a move to spur grain production and aid reconstruction efforts of production areas in earthquake-hit Sichuan province.

Commercial banks should grant more loans and credit to support grain production as grain supply pressure continues to soar in China, said Zang Jingfan, director of cooperative finance supervision department of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The director said that banks' rural financial service levels in quake-affected areas should not be lower than before the earthquake.