He said, said she said...Chinese bank official denies banks told to stop lending in January.
Global stocks have been down today on widely published reports that Chinese authorities are are finally serious about cooling off the asset (commodity and real estate) bubble that has developed in China. Among reported actions: banks were allegedly told to stop new lending for the rest of January.
Stocks now modestly off their midday lows, as of this writing. Traders circulating a report from China Daily, an English-language daily published in China, which is reporting that the country's top bank regulator is denying they have done that.
Here is the relevant portion of their report:
"The newspaper [China Securities Journal] cited sources from the Bank of China as saying all the top branches of the bank had been required by headquarters to cease all bill financing businesses on Jan 17, and that when to resume bill financing would depend on the head office's notifications.
But Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), denied the report while he was attending a financial forum in Hong Kong. 'I never said this,' Liu was quoted saying by the website of the Economic Observer."
Bottom line: the usual secrecy and confusion reigns, but don't let it distract you. China is tightening lending, and no amount of back tracking—or lack of clear statements from Chinese officials—is going to change that fact.
Full article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2010-01/20/content_9350598.htm
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Dow Top Percentage Movers:
(as of this writing)
Bank of America
IBM
Alcoa
Kraft Foods
Caterpillar
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