Bank of China, one of the largest state-owned commercial banks in China, has interrupted forwards and swap transactions with several European banks, due to the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, sources close to the situation said, as quoted by Reuters.

According to the same sources, another Chinese bank halted interest rate swap transactions with several European banks.

However, other major Chinese banks, such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China, said that they continue to work under normal conditions.

According to Reuters, Chinese banks in China which stopped trading in the aforementioned instruments have joined the increasing number of banks that are trying to lower their exposure to the Eurozone. Some of the banks affected by the decision of the Chinese banks include Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole - the largest French banking groups, according to the quoted sources, which state that the decision to halt trading with French banks was also influenced by the fact that their ratings were cut by Moody"s.

Sources say that Bank of China has recently stopped trading with Swiss group UBS AG, which has recently announced a loss of 2.3 billion dollars, as a result of unauthorized transactions made by one of its traders.

Contacted by Reuters, the officials of Société Générale, UBS, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas refused to comment on this information.

. (Translated by Cosmin Ghidoveanu) Bank of China, one of the largest state-owned commercial banks in China, has interrupted forwards and swap transactions with several European banks, due to the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, sources close to the situation said, as quoted by Reuters.

According to the same sources, another Chinese bank halted interest rate swap transactions with several European