
![]() |
| (File photo) |
BEIJING, July 30 -- China's central bank on Thursday approved 93 banks, including three foreign lenders, to issue large-denomination certificates of deposit (CDs) to individuals and companies.
The move brings the total number of institutions allowed to issue the certificates to 102. On June 15, nine banks, including the "big four" state-owned lenders, started to issue the country's first batch of large-scale CDs following the central bank allowing such trading on June 2.
CDs are tradable deposit agreements that allow lenders to bypass interest rate controls. China has removed its grip on lending rates, but the ceiling on deposit rates is still retained at 1.5 times the benchmark.
The participation threshold for purchasing a CD is set at 300,000 yuan (about 48,860 U.S. dollars) for individual investors and 10 million yuan for institutions, according to the central bank.
Interest on the certificates will be mainly determined by the market. Banks and investors can set a fixed or a floating rate, using the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) as a benchmark.
The introduction of CDs is seen as a step towards China fully liberalizing its interest rate mechanism.
At the annual national legislature session in March, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the possibility of this happening this year is "very high."
Student proposes during graduation ceremony
China-made special vehicles in exhibition
Soldiers serving at Liaoning aircraft carrier
Bikini beauties lifeguards in river rafting place
PLA soldiers eat raw snake meat in harsh training
Kiss contest held in Nanning, SW China
Yunnan-Myanmar Road: The past and present
Photos of beautiful policewoman become online hit
Campus belle of Xiamen University gets popular online
Belt of possibility
‘Abnormal’ stock dip to be probed: CSRC
TPP’s geopolitical leverage may be inflated
‘Tiger mothers’ turn out to have deep pockets that fuel kids’ successDay|Week