[Pan Gongsheng: Phasing Out Benchmark Deposit and Lending Rates] At the opening ceremony of the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated that the benchmark deposit and lending rates will be phased out. With the advancement of interest rate marketization reforms, the benchmark deposit and lending rates are gradually being replaced by market-based pricing benchmarks. Bank lending rates already have multiple pricing benchmarks, such as the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) and the interbank overnight repo rate. Since the first quarter of this year, the People's Bank of China has been publishing the average deposit rates for various maturities as a reference for banks' deposit pricing. Moving forward, the People's Bank of China will promote the replacement of interest calculation benchmarks in these areas with market-based interest rate indicators, achieving the phase-out of benchmark deposit and lending rates for financial institutions.