Chinese Officials Said to Weigh Easing Constraints on Banks

China is allowing the nation’s five biggest banks to increase first-quarter lending and weighing a plan to relax capital requirements as economic growth cools.

The central bank will let the larger lenders increase new loans by a maximum of about 5 percent from a year earlier, according to two people at state lenders who have knowledge of the matter. The banking regulator is delaying implementing the most stringent capital adequacy ratios and may lower risk weightings for loans to small businessmen and companies, four people said separately.