chinas central bank said monday that it would allow commercial banks to postpone the repayment of loans borrowed by small businesses that come due in the final quarter of the year as part of efforts to shore up economic growth the peoples bank of china said in a notice published on its website that the repayment of principal and interest can be extended to june 30 2023 commercial banks can still collect interest payment for the extended period although there will be no penalty for late repayment said the central bank the pboc also said banks shouldnt downgrade the risk category for such loans the repayment of which was affected by the covid19 pandemic the late repayment of these loans borrowed by small companies wont affect borrowers credit records said the central bank it also urged banks to provide platforms for online repayment extension to help struggling small companies the chinese economy has been struggling with a prolonged property slump and stringent covid policy which damped consumer spending and suspended business operations due to massive lockdowns