File photo shows an exterior view of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in Beijing, capital of China.

Making the relevant decisions is no easy task, however, because of all the functions a central bank may carry out, serving as the lender of last resort is by far the most difficult to pin down. For ...

The executive order is particularly challenging for the central bank because its insulation from short-term politics helps give it credibility in financial markets.