China lets some banks pay above SOFR on corporate US dollar deposits

China has allowed some banks to offer corporate US dollar deposit rates above the US Secured Overnight Financing Rate, easing a ceiling put in place in 2023 when pressure on the renminbi was mounting. At least three Chinese banks, including some state-backed lenders, received the guidance in recent days but had not yet acted, the report said. The change gives banks more room to compete for foreign-currency funds and may encourage companies to keep export proceeds and other cash in dollars instead of switching into yuan. The onshore renminbi has climbed more than 3% this year to 6.77 per dollar, the strongest performance among Asian currencies, as sentiment toward Chinese assets improved.