Chinese Banks Seek $30 Billion in Loan Quotas to Support Share Buying

Chinese banks asked for more than 200 billion yuan, or $30 billion, in loan quotas this week to finance share purchases by listed companies, the People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday. The applications come as Beijing intensifies efforts to bolster a stock market pressured by weak domestic economic conditions and a selloff in technology shares. The PBOC also reduced the interest rate on the relending program by 0.25 percentage points to 1%, effective Wednesday. The lower rate allows banks to borrow from the central bank more cheaply before lending the funds for share purchases, and the PBOC urged banks…