SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's central bank said on Saturday it would cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks by 50 basis points, effective from February 24.
The first RRR cut in 2012 came more than two months after the last 50-basis-point cut announced on November 30, 2011.
The People's Bank of China made the announcement on its website (www.pbc.gov.cn).
It would cut the RRR for the biggest banks to 20.5 percent from 21 percent, freeing up funds that could be used for lending.
(Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Robert Birsel)
