A Chinese bank has been forced to backtrack on a special loan offer for families with three children after it went viral online, with the bank now saying the plan is still being studied and is yet to be launched.

According to Chinese media reports, a netizen in Jiangxi province shared an image on Weibo advertising a “Childbirth Consumer Loan” which was said to be available at Bank of China’s Jiangxi branch.

The loan offer was described as being applicable to married individuals aged between 20 and 50 years old, who can either be at least six months pregnant or the parent of a child aged up to two years. Parents of three children could avail of a maximum loan amount of 300,000 yuan, while the maximum amount for parents of two or fewer children would be 200,000 and 100,000 yuan respectively.

The conditions stated the loan must be used to cover spending necessary for childbirth, and cannot be used for home payments or stock market trading.

Chinese media outlets reacted positively to the viral advertisement, with some saying that Bank of China was “bright” again as a result of the offer. Others said that the idea of getting a loan in order to give birth was no longer just a dream.

The Bank of China Jiangxi branch posted a clarification on its WeChat account on Friday, saying that the loan plan was still being studied and evaluated internally. It said as its existing consumer loan products were already capable of meeting customers’ demands, there was no plan to launch the three-child loan offer at the present time.

China last week replaced its two-child policy with a three-child policy in a move intended to counteract the country’s aging population. The latest census statistics suggest that while China’s population has not yet begun to decline, its growth is nonetheless the slowest in decades.

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