China’s loans hit all-time high as banks open floodgates in January to help slowing economy
- New yuan loans reached 3.23 trillion yuan (US$476.97 billion), almost triple the amount from December
- Flood of money could offer a lifeline to many indebted Chinese firms with total debt in China now close to 300 per cent of its gross domestic product
New loans in China surged to an all-time high in January, highlighting Beijing’s scramble to bolster economic activities at home amid the trade war with the United States.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, said on Friday that new yuan loans surged to 3.23 trillion yuan (US$476.97 billion) last month.
The figure almost tripled the 1.08 trillion yuan (US$160.8 billion) of loans in December, while also beating the 1.6 trillion yuan (US$236.27 billion) of loans issued in January 2009 when Beijing looking to put growth on track during the global financial crisis.
Total social financing, the more broadly defined measure of credit in the economy that includes loans, bonds and other non-traditional financing instruments, grew to 4.64 trillion yuan (US$685.18 billion) in January.
The data confirms that the world’s second largest economy is taking an ultra loose monetary position, even though Beijing has refrained from a benchmark interest rate cut or officially call for a shift in its monetary policy stance.
"Today's data show that authorities have become more willing to ease monetary policy, with yuan loans and corporate bond issuance trending significantly higher," said Jimmy Zhu, chief strategist at Fullerton Markets.
