China's central bank conducts first SFISF operation

BEIJING - The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has conducted the first operation of the Securities, Funds and Insurance companies Swap Facility (SFISF), aiming to leverage the role of financial institutions better in stabilizing China's capital market, according to the central bank on Monday.

The scale of the operation was 50 billion yuan ($7.04 billion).

The move came after the central bank on Oct 10 announced its decision to establish the SFISF with an initial scale of 500 billion yuan, as part of efforts to support the healthy, stable development of the capital market.

The tool will allow eligible securities, funds and insurance companies to use their assets -- including bonds, stock exchange-traded funds and constituent stocks of the CSI 300 Index -- as collateral in exchange for highly liquid assets such as treasury bonds and central bank bills, according to the PBOC.

The central bank launched the SFISF on Friday, with the first group of application quotas exceeding 200 billion yuan. A total of 20 securities and funds companies were approved for participation in SFISF operations.

On Monday, investment bank China International Capital Corporation Limited announced that it has completed a transaction through the SFISF.