PBOC Conducts 800 Billion Yuan Outright Reverse Repo Operations - News Directory 3

PBOC Conducts 800 Billion Yuan Outright Reverse Repo Operations

April 5, 2026 Victoria Sterling Business
News Context
At a glance
  • The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced on April 3, 2026, that it will conduct an 800-billion-yuan outright reverse repo operation on April 7.
  • The operation, which involves approximately 116 billion U.S.
  • The tenor for this specific operation is set at three months, or 89 days.
Original source: finance.people.com.cn

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced on April 3, 2026, that it will conduct an 800-billion-yuan outright reverse repo operation on April 7. The central bank stated the move is intended to maintain ample liquidity within the national banking system.

The operation, which involves approximately 116 billion U.S. Dollars, will be carried out through interest-rate bidding. According to the PBOC, the winning bids will be determined at multiple price levels, and the operation will have a fixed quantity.

The tenor for this specific operation is set at three months, or 89 days.

Monetary Policy Toolkit and Framework

Outright reverse repo operations are a tool the PBOC introduced in October 2024 to manage liquidity in the banking system. These operations are conducted on a monthly basis with tenors not exceeding one year.

The central bank has integrated these operations into a broader monetary policy toolkit. The outright reverse repo complements existing measures, which include:

  • Temporary repos
  • Temporary reverse repos
  • The purchase and sale of treasury bonds

Context of Liquidity Management

The April operation follows previous liquidity injections by the PBOC. On February 3, 2026, the central bank announced an 800-billion-yuan buyout-style reverse repo operation scheduled for February 4. That February operation, also with a three-month tenor, was designed to preemptively address liquidity strains typically induced by the Lunar New Year holiday.

The February 4 operation marked the first volume increase for that specific tenor since November 2025. This approach of using multiple tools—including medium-term lending facilities (MLF) and treasury bond transactions—is intended to ensure financial market stability and maintain ample liquidity without necessitating a broad reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut, although such measures remain a possibility for 2026.

Market participants have previously anticipated active liquidity management throughout February, with expectations that 6-month reverse repo and MLF operations would be increased in size or rolled over.