PBOC Steps Up Efforts To Increase Financial Stability

The People's Bank of China said Friday that it would crack down on financial crimes like money laundering, tax evasion and terrorist financing. Over the past month, the central bank has stepped up monitoring of several prominent bitcoin exchanges to try and prevent Chinese citizens from using digital currencies to circumvent the country's stringent capital controls.The central bank also warned that it sees asset bubbles forming in certain markets and that it will increasingly monitor the country's financial markets for abnormal moves. Chinese stocks finished lower on Friday, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.9% at 3,202 and the Shenzen A Share index fell 0.7% to 24,033.74. The dollar strengthened 0.2% to 6.87 yuan.