BEIJING — China's central bank on April 15 further lowered the interest rate of its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans by 20 basis points amid a slew of monetary policy maneuvers to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the world's second-largest economy.

The People's Bank of China lowered the rate of 100 billion yuan (about $14.2 billion) worth of one-year MLF to financial institutions to 2.95 percent, compared with 3.15 percent on the previous operation.

The MLF tool was introduced in 2014 to help commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank using securities as collateral.

No MLF loans are set to mature on April 15.