On October 18th, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) officially launched its new 500 billion yuan Securities Firms, Funds and Insurers Swap Facility (SFISF). Under the SFISF, eligible securities firms, fund managers and insurers can pledge assets such as bonds, stock ETFs, and stocks from the CSI 300 index as collateral to borrow government bonds or central bank bills from the PBOC.