CHINA’S central bank has issued 500 billion yuan (US$81.4 billion) worth of three-month loans to the country’s five biggest banks, Xinhua quoted China Construction Bank chairman Wang Hongzhang as saying Friday.

    The report is the first confirmation in domestic media that the People’s Bank of China issued loans worth 500 billion yuan last week to help banks meet higher demands for cash before the end of the quarter and the October “Golden Week” holidays.

    The loans were disbursed through the Standing Lending Facility (SLF), a policy tool created by the central bank in 2013 to manage liquidity.

    The tool, similar to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s discount window or the European Central Bank’s marginal lending facility, allows the banks to use the cash any time they need to.

    An official with the news department of China Construction Bank, the country’s second-biggest lender, confirmed that Wang had been interviewed by Xinhua on Friday and discussed the issue of the SLF.

    “China Construction Bank has enough funds for now, and has no need to supplement liquidity,” Wang was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

    The central bank was pumping 100 billion yuan each into the top five banks via the SLF, news reports said earlier last week.

    Asked if China Construction Bank got the 100 million yuan loans reported by the media, Wang was quoted as saying: “Negotiations are ongoing.”

    In its last major SLF operations in mid-January, ahead of the seasonal demand of a long holiday and a large number of initial public offerings, the central bank announced it injected short-term funds into large banks but did not specify the amount, although it did announce an injection of 120 billion yuan into small banks. (SD-Agencies)