PBOC hints at further cuts in the reserve requirement ratio

China will intensify counter-cyclical monetary measures at the aggregate level, central bank officials said on Thursday, implying room for further reductions in the reserve requirement ratio.

Zou Lan, head of the Monetary Policy Department of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said that the current average RRR of financial institutions — the proportion of deposits they must keep as reserves — is about 7 percent, and there is still room for reduction to some degree.

Zou said at a news conference on Thursday that China's monetary policy will strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments at the aggregate level, continuing to focus on domestic conditions and giving priority to supporting domestic economic development.

A variety of monetary policy tools will be used to maintain reasonable money and credit growth, he said.

In terms of interest rate adjustments, Zou said the central bank will continue to promote a drop in the comprehensive financing cost of the society while keeping it stable overall.

Meanwhile, there are "certain constraints" on further reducing deposit and lending interest rates, affected by the speed of bank deposits flowing toward asset management products and the narrowing bank net interest margin.