China's Central Bank to cut bank reserve requirement by 1 point to stimulate slowing economy

China's Central Bank says it will cut its bank reserve requirement by 1 percentage point to stimulate more lending into a slowing economy.

The bank said in a statement Sunday that the new reserve requirement would take effect Monday. The move allows banks to lend out more of their money. The Communist Party-run People's Daily said the cut would release 1.2 trillion yuan, or about $194 billion, into the world's second-biggest economy.

The Central Bank last cut its reserve requirement in February, when it slashed it to 19.5 percent for big banks and to 16 percent for small and medium-sized banks.

Official data showed last week that China's economy grew by 7 percent in the first quarter of the year, the lowest level since the financial crisis of 2009.