(14 September 2015 – China) China's bank lending retreated in August, the central bank said on Friday.
Domestic banks extended new loans of 809.6 billion yuan (A$179 billion), down from 1.48 trillion yuan in July, the People's Bank of China said.
But total social financing – an alternative measure of credit in the real economy – reached 1.08 trillion yuan last month, rising strongly from 718.8 billion yuan in July and slightly exceeding a consensus forecast of 1.0 trillion yuan, according to Bloomberg News.
“Credit growth is staying on track despite the stock market volatility,” Larry Hu, Hong Kong-based head of China economics at Macquarie Securities, told Bloomberg.
“We're going to see a pickup in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Last month, the central bank cut interest rates for the fifth time since November and reduced the reserve requirement ratio for the fourth time.
In order to keep the economy growing, analysts believe China will further ease its monetary policy.