New loan regulations for farmers

China's banking regulator announced Saturday that its regulations for loans to farmers will come into force on January 1 next year.

The regulations, which have recently been published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, will regulate farmer loan issuance and help financial institutions strengthen risk management to avoid bad debts.

By the end of June, Chinese financial institutions had extended 3.48 trillion yuan ($552.38 billion) in loans to farmers, up 160 percent from the end of 2007.