The deposit reserve requirement ratio will increase by half a percentage point from March 25, the People's Bank of China (Chinese central bank) announced on its website on March 18. The central bank's announcement will take the deposit reserve requirement ratio for large financial institutions in China to 20 percent, which is a record high. This is the third time the Chinese central bank has raised the deposit reserve ratio in the current year, following previous increases on January 20 and January 24.
In 2010, China's central bank raised the deposit reserve ratio a total of six times in order to cope with the complex and volatile economic environment and to counteract inflationary pressures.