To “Prevent Public Panic”, Beijing Orders Banks To Keep Capital Controls Secret

China is so concerned about the ongoing surge in capital outflows that its forex regulator, SAFE, has taken the unprecedented step of ordering banks to keep its instructions about curbing capital outflows secret and also to ensure that research analysts do not publish any negative views about the yuan according to Reuters. According to bankers from local and foreign banks, both demands are seen as an attempt by the authorities to prevent alarm that could trigger further declines in the yuan.
With the yuan losing 6% of its value against the dollar last year as a result of hundreds of billions in official outflows (and as much as $1.1 trillion in unofficial since August 2015 according to Goldman calculations), Beijing has unleashed a flurry of restrictive measures on capital outflows from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), including setting limits on banks’ currency volumes in some cities or provinces and requiring approval for ever smaller transactions. Overnight, the PBOC even unveiled probed into bitcoin exchanges, sending the digital currency plunging over 20%.
Reuters reports that SAFE, which is part of the People’s Bank of China, is insisting, orally, that dozens of bank don’t reveal its role in such restrictions, which was damaging their relationships with clients since they were unable to explain why they were turning away business. SAFE’s reticence began at least as far back as August, when its Shanghai branch called at least 20 of the major foreign and domestic banks operating in the city to a meeting with the regional heads of several SAFE departments.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jan 11, 2017.