Chinese bank loans hit a record high in January, official data showed Friday, as banks heeded Beijing’s call to provide more support to the economy.
New yuan loans stood at 5.13 trillion yuan, equivalent to $703.72 billion, in January, up from 990 billion yuan in December, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China.
The result beat the 4.3 trillion yuan anticipated by economists in a Wall Street Journal survey, and surpassed the prior record of 4.92 trillion yuan for January 2024.
Total social financing, a broader metric for credit that includes nonbank financing, stood at 7.06 trillion yuan in January.
China’s M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 7.0% in January from the prior year, slower than December’s 7.3% growth and the 7.4% expected by economists.
Write to Singapore Editors at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 14, 2025 04:38 ET (09:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
