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# PBoC governor Pan Gongsheng signals shift from loan-growth targets toward interest-rate tools
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/pboc-governor-pan-gongsheng-shift-loan-growth-targets-interest-rate-tools/
- Published: 2026-09-16T11:25:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T01:12:56.000Z
- Description: PBoC Governor Pan Gongsheng said slower, higher-quality loan growth is likely to become a 'new normal' as the central bank shifts toward interest-rate tools.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Central Banks, Asia-Pacific

People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng published a signed policy article in Qiushi, the Communist Party's flagship theoretical journal, on Wednesday, signalling a shift away from loan-growth targets toward greater reliance on interest-rate tools to guide policy.

Pan said maintaining past overall credit growth rates would be "difficult and unnecessary" and that slower, higher-quality loan growth is likely to become a "new normal" feature of the Chinese economy.

#### QUANTITATIVE TARGETS TO BE DE-EMPHASISED

The governor said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period covering 2026 to 2030 the PBoC will lessen its emphasis on quantitative targets, particularly for lending, and will strengthen interest-rate mechanisms.

#### OUTSTANDING LOANS EXCEED 280 TRILLION YUAN

China's outstanding loan balance exceeds 280 trillion yuan, or about $41.7 trillion, and Pan said shrinking property and local-government financing sectors were sapping credit demand. Pan noted that direct financing through bonds and equity accounted for roughly one-third of outstanding aggregate social financing at the end of June 2026, and the central bank said bond and equity financing combined made up 47% of the increase in total social financing in 2025, surpassing loans (45%) for the first time.

Pan said slower growth in aggregate financing helps keep the macro leverage ratio broadly stable after years of rapid debt accumulation.