The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, announced Sunday it will raise the deposit reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by half a percentage point from May 10.

The ratio for the rural credit cooperatives and rural banks would remain unchanged at 13.5 percent, said the PBOC in a statement on its website.

However, the RRR for other small financial institutions would rise to 14 percent, and that for large financial institutions to 17 percent.

This is the third rise in the deposit ratio this year. On Jan. 12 and Feb. 17, the central bank raised the deposit ratio by half a percentage point each time.

The PBOC cut the bank reserve requirement ratio four times during the second half of 2008 to stimulate growth.