Wells Fargo's board is likely to strip out 2016 bonuses for the bank's top executives following the bogus account scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing "people familiar with the matter." The board met in late January and discussed withholding bonuses for senior executives, including Chief Executive Timothy Sloan and Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry, the WSJ said. The board is expected to finalise its decision, which could affect annual incentive awards that are paid in cash or stock, in coming weeks. At the start of each year, Chinese banks are inclined to pre-empt requests for loans in a bid to secure business as early as possible, leading the country's central bank to issue informal notices to commercial lenders to control the size of credit loans, according online news site Caixin.com. The government is seeking to "cool a lending frenzy and reduce financial leverage," Caixin reported. This was apparent last year when commercial lenders granted 2.5 trillion yuan in new loans - the highest monthly level ever, spurred in part by the expectation of falling interest rates.