Reuters reports that the PBOC told banks to moderate pace of lending in January

Citing four sources with direct knowledge of the matter, say that the People's Bank of China told some commercial banks in January to moderate their pace of lending

• also told the lenders that the pace and size of loans granted should not fall below the level from the same period a year earlier
• Loan growth is usually strong in January as Chinese banks tend to front-load loans early in the year to win market share.

There is more detail at the link here