China's central bank has told some banks to slow the pace of lending to contain risks after new bank loans jumped to a record in January, three bankers with knowledge of the matter said. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) sent the informal instructions, or the so-called window guidance, earlier this month to some lenders that asked them to issue loans "under an appropriate growth rate", the bankers said. The banks were told to control the scale of new loans in February to avoid issuing new loans at a too-rapid pace, the sources said. Chinese banks are under pressure to accelerate credit support to prop up a slowing ... (full story)