Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China CITIC Bank have ordered some of their branches to halt new loans for the rest of January, the Wall Street Journal reported. An official at CITIC Bank said the move came after requests from bank headquarters and the People’s Bank of China to control the pace of lending. Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said last week that some banks had been asked to limit lending, but did not name specific banks. Beijing has also raised reserve requirements for banks seen to have issued too many new loans earlier in the month; requirements were lifted to 0.5 percentage points to 16.5% for select banks, though it is unclear precisely which banks are affected.