The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) lowered its benchmark interest rates by 20 bps to a record low of 3.85% on April 20th. It is the second cut this year as policymakers sought to shore up the economy battling with the COVID-19 outbreak after it contracted by 6.8% year-on-year in Q1 2020, the first decline since at least 1992. The five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was also lowered by 10 bps to 4.65% and bigger than market consensus of a 5bps reduction.
