Chinese Banks Come Out With Smaller-Than-Expected Rate Cuts

(Bloomberg) — Chinese banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to their benchmark lending rate on Monday and avoided trimming the reference rate for mortgages, despite the central bank putting pressure on lenders to boost loans.

The one-year loan prime rate was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.45% from 3.55%, a slighter reduction than what most economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected. The five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was unexpectedly kept steady at 4.2%, according to data from the People’s Bank of China. Most economists had predicted a 15 basis-point cut.