This certainly happened in 2005 and 2006, when the PBOC used swaps to transfer dollars over to the state banks (the state banks invested the funds in foreign bonds, and registered as a portfolio debt outflow). It happened again in the 2007 and 2008, which the state commercial banks were required to hold a portion of their required reserves in foreign currency. This registered as other foreign assets on the PBOC’s balance sheet, and as an “other, other” outflow in the balance of payments.* By contrast, countries like Turkey and Argentina report the foreign exchange that domestic banks hold at the central bank as part of their required domestic reserves, and as part of the central banks’ foreign exchange reserves.
