Banks get nods to issue special bonds to finance MSE

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has given green light to three banks to auction special bonds worth 110 billion yuan to finance loans to the micro- and small-enterprises (MSE), in its latest efforts to lend support to struggling businesses. China Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank were permitted to issue bonds of up to 50 billion (7.73 billion U.S. dollars), 30 billion and 30 billion yuan respectively to channel loans to enterprises borrowing below 5 million yuan. The loans under the policy will be excluded from the banks' loan-to-deposit ratio calculation. The move, which is yet subject to approval from the People's Bank of China, comes after the CBRC issued a guideline last month to allow Chinese commercial banks to sell tailored bond products to support MSE credit. As of the end of September, outstanding loans made to small- and micro-sized companies totaled 14.75 trillion yuan, accounting for 27.9 percent of all outstanding loans.