Two provinces postpone bond auctions as banks decline low-yield bonds

The provincial governments of Jiangsu and Anhui have postponed bond auctions after low yields failed to draw sufficient interest in the debt from commercial banks, The Financial Times reported, citing the state news affiliate Economic Information Daily. The disinterest from banks poses a problem for the finance ministry’s plan to refinance RMB1 trillion in debt that will mature this year and which was racked up by local governments using so-called local government financing vehicles to skirt a ban on direct borrowing after the 2008 financial crisis hit.