Beijing clamping down on yuan speculators with bank bans: sources

New York

CHINA has a message for currency speculators: The free lunch is over.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has suspended at least two foreign banks from conducting some cross-border yuan businesses until late March, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The clampdown comes as the growing offshore-onshore spread makes it profitable for those who skirt capital controls to buy the currency at a discount in Hong Kong and sell it in Shanghai.