Three banks suspend lending

Three Chinese banks announced that they stopped all lending until May 1, raising the possibility that the government may introduce tighter loan rules to rein in economic growth. The banks, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Shenzhen Development Bank, ordered their branches to cease making new loans until May 1, the first day of a weeklong national holiday in China. The China Banking Regulatory Commission, China's top banking authority, said it did not order the banks to suspend issuing new loans. Mainland analysts said that the banks� new loan suspensions are likely to be followed by new regulations during the May holiday.