Market reports said some provinces told small and medium-sized banks to keep financial-investment growth no faster than loan growth and to limit new-bond duration to no longer than existing holdings. People familiar with the matter said Chinese regulators have not issued a nationwide mandate; bond purchases and duration choices remain within banks’ asset-liability management discretion, though institutional constraints apply. Another source said interest-rate risk levels and risk management are

Market reports said some provinces told small and medium-sized banks to keep financial-investment growth no faster than loan growth and to limit new-bond duration to no longer than existing holdings. People familiar with the matter said Chinese regulators have not issued a nationwide mandate; bond purchases and duration choices remain within banks’ asset-liability management discretion, though institutional constraints apply. Another source said interest-rate risk levels and risk management are subject to explicit rules and local supervisors carry out routine risk monitoring and reminders for institutions in their jurisdictions.