Boosting liquidity to the financial system on Thursday, China's central bank signaled its readiness to supply smaller banks with a steady stream of cash after the takeover of a troubled lender, letting more banks access the funds.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) lent 500 billion yuan (£57 billion) to financial institutions via its medium-term lending facility (MLF), offsetting 463 billion yuan worth of MLF loans maturing on the same day. It left the interest rate for the one-year MLF unchanged at 3.30 percent.

Money market traders said the central bank has steadily expanded the list of qualified recipients for the liquidity tool this year, allowing more smaller lenders to directly tap longer-term funds.