Fresh loans down at big four state banks

The "big four" state-controlled banks doled out fewer new loans last month than in November, spurring hope that mainland banks might have put the brakes on lending.

The four - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China - extended a total of 164 billion yuan (HK$201.66 billion) in new loans last month, down from November's 168 billion yuan and October's 220 billion yuan, Xinhua's Economic Information Daily reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

As loans from these four typically account for 30 to 40 per cent of the mainland's total bank lending, many economists estimate the total new loans in December were about 500 billion yuan, and 8.3 trillion yuan for the whole of last year.

Song Yu, an economist at Beijing Gao Hua Securities, said: "Around 500 billion yuan in new loans, compared with 522.9 billion yuan in November, would mainly reflect the cautious approach of the monetary authorities."

Last month the central bank said it would focus on "controlling risks" in the financial system and seek "stable and appropriate" growth in financing this year.

Banks on the mainland extended 7.75 trillion yuan of new loans in the first 11 months of last year, already surpassing the 7.47 trillion yuan for the full year of 2011, when policymakers encouraged funding of construction projects to spur economic growth.