People’s Bank of China (PBoC)
Banknotes: January to March 2026
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Central banks in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan hold rates
Taiwan tilts hawkish, Hong Kong follows Fed and China expected to ease by 10bp this year
PBoC plans more market-based monetary policy formulation
Analysts expect Middle East conflict to have little impact on policy in China
Asian central banks prepare for conflict-induced energy shock
IMF’s Georgieva says Iran war creates energy and confidence risks for most of region
China acts to slow yuan gains by scrapping FX forward hedge cost
PBoC to remove 20% reserve ratio as it aims for ‘reasonable and balanced’ renminbi
Renminbi options volumes plummet as vol grinds lower
USD/CNH volumes fell 84% in 2025 as PBoC currency management took hold
China goes long gold, short Treasuries
Bullion-buying spree continues, but banks told to limit purchases of US government debt
China says tokenisation illegal under existing framework
PBoC and agencies update 2021 crypto guidelines to place restrictions on real world assets
HKMA to double renminbi funding quota
Measure comes as Hong Kong announces collaboration with mainland over city’s gold trading system
China leaves benchmark lending rates unchanged
One-year LPR stays at 3% and five-year rate remains at 3.5% following easing via structural tools
China’s interest-bearing CBDC a world first, experts say
E-CNY now more integrated with commercial banking, thus solidifying country’s two-tier system
China cuts lending rate for some sectors and flags room for more
PBoC deputy announces 25bp cuts to lending rate for agriculture sector, small businesses and others
CBDCs versus instant payments
Are technological and ecosystem advances using CBDCs and instant payments complementary or substitutes?
2025: The year in central banking
A look back at the biggest and most popular stories of the year
China launches ‘credit repair’ scheme to boost lending
Overdue personal debt of up to 10,000 yuan to be removed from database if debtor repays by March
DBS becomes Singapore’s second RMB clearing bank
PBoC and MAS agree to deepen collaboration on securities, e-CNY and other areas
China to continue ‘moderately loose’ monetary policy in 2026
PBoC plans to work with other agencies in effort to boost consumption
Bank notes: October to December 2025
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
IMF opens third China office in Shanghai
Institution and PBoC say new hub will conduct research into Asia-Pacific’s emerging economies
The prospects for retail CBDCs
Open instant payments systems offer a quicker route to financial deepening, for now
IIF says China’s CBDC irrelevant to renminbi internationalisation
Economists say yuan’s use for payments growing, though it remains “stagnant” as reserve currency