China’s central bank is planning to launch its own version of innovative credit-easing programs adopted by its counterparts in developed countries, according to officials with knowledge of the matter, as Beijing’s flagship plan to restructure trillions of dollars of local-government debts is hitting snags. Under the plan, which could be put in place in the next couple of months, the People’s Bank of China will allow Chinese banks to swap local-government bailout bonds for loans as a way to bolster liquidity and boost lending, the officials said. The strategy—dubbed Pledged Supplementary Lending—is similar to the long-term refinancing operations, or LTROs, used by the European Central Bank. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the central bank […]