NEW loans at China's big four banks dropped sharply to 168 billion yuan (US$26.7 billion) in November, reigniting concerns over a credit crunch toward the year-end, according to a newspaper.
The total new loans in all lenders last month were between 420 billion yuan and 480 billion yuan, lower than previous market hopes of 500 billion yuan, the 21st Century Business Herald said yesterday, citing an unnamed source in a big state-owned bank.
The big four banks lent a total of 220 billion yuan in October.
The loans extended by the big four lenders - the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China - normally account for 35 percent to 40 percent of the nation's total lending.
Total new lending may amount to around 8 trillion yuan, said the source.
Total lending rose to 7.2 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of this year, according to data from the People's Bank of China.
Demand from corporations for bank credit weakened in the first six months of this year amid a slowing economy. The new lending last month was mainly driven by rising personal mortgages due to a rebounding property market, the newspaper said.
'Devil' foreign instructors at Chinese bodyguard training camp